Non-Fouling Ceramic Membranes for Treatment of Metastable Oil/Water Emulsions

该项目的目的是评估适用于此类废物流的物理废水处理工艺;即，使用新型陶瓷膜的错流超滤（UF），所述陶瓷膜被处理成具有低表面自由能、“无污染”表面。 用常规UF膜处理亚稳的水包油乳液导致快速的膜污染和通量下降，并且由于这个问题通常是不经济的。 将使用低成本、高表面积的载体对具有改性、低能表面的陶瓷超滤膜进行评价。 将使用不同类型的合成亚稳水包油乳液评价所得膜组件的过滤性能。 这些实验的目的将是定义优选的膜改性技术和证明表面改性的膜维持高的、稳定的渗透通量水平同时产生基本上无烃的渗透物的能力。 这是一个第一阶段的奖项，根据提交的建议，以响应NSF 93-18，小企业创新研究（SBIR）计划征求，解决了一类废水，亚稳油/水乳液和类似的废物流，需要更具有成本效益的处理，并在全国范围内的流量很大。 目前亚稳油/水乳状液的处理技术往往是无效的，而且这种未充分处理的废物流的处置造成了水资源的严重损害。 待评价的膜，如果开发并集成在生产规模的膜组件中，将是含油废水处理系统中的关键要素，具有低资本和运营成本。 该技术的应用包括那些具有极高废水流量的应用，例如来自油井威尔斯的采出水和来自炼油厂原油洗涤的脱盐器底部。

9360331 Higgins The objective of this project is to evaluate a physical wastewater treatment process applicable to such waste streams; namely, crossflow ultrafiltration (UF) using novel ceramic membranes that are treated to have low-surface-free-energy, "non- fouling" surfaces. Processing of metastable oil-in-water emulsions with conventional UF membranes leads to rapid membrane fouling and flux decline and is generally uneconomic because of this problem. Ceramic UF membranes with modified, low-energy surfaces will be evaluated using low-cost, high-surface-area supports. The resulting membrane modules will be evaluated for filtration properties using different types of synthetic metastable oil-in-water emulsions. The objectives of these experiments will be definition of preferred membrane modification techniques and demonstration of the capability of surface- modified membranes to maintain high, stable permeate flux levels while producing a substantially hydrocarbon-free permeate. This is a Phase I award based on a proposal submitted in response to NSF 93-18, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Solicitation, addresses a class of wastewaters, metastable oil/water emulsions and similar waste streams for which a need exists for more cost-effective treatment and for which the flows on a national scale are large. Current treatment technologies for metastable oil/water emulsions are often ineffective, and substantial impairment of water resources results from disposal of such inadequately treated waste streams. The membranes to be evaluated, if developed and integrated within a production scale membrane module would be the key element in an oily wastewater treatment system with low capital and operating costs. Applications for this technology include those with extremely high waste flows, such as produced water from oil wells and desalter bottoms from crude oil washing at refineries.