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

9360331 Higgins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，使用新型陶瓷膜的交叉流超滤（UF），该陶瓷膜经处理后具有低表面自由能，“无污垢”表面。用常规超滤膜处理亚稳水包油乳剂会导致膜污染迅速，通量下降，因此通常不经济。具有改性、低能量表面的陶瓷UF膜将使用低成本、高表面积的支撑进行评估。所得到的膜模块将使用不同类型的合成亚稳水包油乳液来评估过滤性能。这些实验的目的是确定首选的膜改性技术，并证明表面改性膜在产生基本上不含碳氢化合物的渗透液的同时保持高、稳定的渗透通量水平的能力。这是根据NSF 93-18“小企业创新研究（SBIR）项目征集”提交的一项提案而获得的第一阶段奖励，旨在解决一类废水、亚稳油/水乳剂和类似的废水流，这些废水需要更经济有效的处理，并且在全国范围内流量很大。目前的亚稳油/水乳剂处理技术往往是无效的，并且由于处理不当的废水流而造成水资源的严重损害。待评估的膜，如果开发并集成到生产规模的膜模块中，将成为低资本和运营成本的含油废水处理系统的关键要素。该技术的应用范围包括废水流量极高的领域，如油井产出水和炼油厂原油洗涤的脱盐底部。

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.