Wettability control and oil/water separation performance of 3D-printed porous materials

In this paper, polylactic acid porous materials were prepared by a fused deposition modeling 3D printing method. Then, a combination of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) solution etching containing hydrophobic nano-silica (HN-SiO2) and low surface energy fluorosilane modification was used to obtain the samples with different wettability. The effect of immersion time in MEK solution and HN-SiO2 content on the wettability of porous samples was investigated. Finally, the sample with the highest contact angle and extremely low sliding angle was selected for the oil/water separation test. The separation efficiency of oil/water separators with hole side lengths of 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2 for five different oil/water mixtures was investigated. The results show that the oil/water separator with a hole side length of 1.0 mm has a better primary separation effect. With the increase of the hole size of the oil-water separator, the effect of multiple separations is unfavorable. The oil/water separator with hole side length of 0.8 mm has repeatable oil/water separation performance many times. This research provides a new idea for the application of the oil/water separator with a hole side length greater than 0.6 mm printed by an ordinary, inexpensive, low-precision fusion 3D printer.

Automated summary

This study utilized 3D printing to prepare polylactic acid porous materials, and adjusted their wettability through specific etching and modification methods. The results indicate that the oil/water separator with a hole side length of 1.0 mm has the best separation efficiency.