Development of bio-inspired Coalescing Filter for water-fuel separation

开发用于水燃料分离的仿生聚结过滤器

• 批准号: 2130507
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Leeds
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2018 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2130507
• 关键词: Development; bio; inspired; Coalescing; Filter

Context of research: Effective fuel-water separation technology is of paramount importance for many application especially in the automotive industry where the presence of water contaminant in the fuel can reduce engine performance and cause severe damage to the injectors by promoting corrosion and microbial growth. In recent years, the societal drive toward greener fuel technology as resulted in tighter emission regulation and new diesel fuels blend. This change in formulation however has an adverse effect on the performance of traditional fuel filters and their ability to separate emulsified water. Indeed, these additives reduce interfacial tension between the water and the diesel leading to formation of more stable emulsions and the generation of smaller water droplets that are harder to remove. This experimental research project will address the challenge by developing and studying the performance of a new type of fuel-water filter combining a depth coalescing non-woven medium and a barrier mesh. The project will focus on the fabrication, characterization and performance of such mixed filter. Using a biomimetic approach to the problem, materials will be designed with a range of porosity and wettability (from superhydrophobic to superoleophobic) and the performance of the ad-hoc filters will be systematically assessed against the characteristics of water-in-fuel emulsion.Aims and objectives. The main aims are i) to use a biomimetic approach to advance the fabrication of mixed filters combining coalescing medium barrier mesh and ii) carry out an accurate study of the performance of mixed filter against the characteristics of water-in-fuel emulsion to provide an insight into the relationship between the structure of the filter, its operating environment and performances.The objectives are:To develop bio-inspired strategies that enable control at the nanoscale using PECVD technologies to alter surface wettability. Through interfacial physicochemical modification; filters exhibiting a range of wettability (from super-hydrophilic to super-oleophilic) will be used to conduct a detailed study of the heterogeneous nucleation, growth and coalescence properties of such interfaces. The project will systematically investigate the relationship between the properties of the filters (e.g., wettability, porosity), their efficiencies ( e.g., pressure drop, life expectancy, residual water) and the properties of the water-diesel emulsions (e.g. water content, droplet size, viscosity, interfacial tension) to offer a new insight onto the factors affecting water removal from fuels. Potential applications and benefits The multidisciplinary project will provide a stepping stone toward the development of advanced liquid-liquid separation technologies that will benefits many industries (e.g. oil spill, automotive industry, liquid extraction). The science at the core of this project will help to understand the complex physic of interfacial coalescence mechanisms and multiphase flow in porous media.

研究背景：有效的燃料-水分离技术对于许多应用是至关重要的，特别是在汽车工业中，燃料中存在的水污染物会降低发动机性能，并通过促进腐蚀和微生物生长对喷射器造成严重损害。近年来，社会对绿色燃料技术的推动导致了更严格的排放法规和新的柴油混合燃料。然而，配方的这种变化对传统燃油过滤器的性能及其分离乳化水的能力有不利影响。事实上，这些添加剂降低了水和柴油之间的界面张力，导致形成更稳定的乳液，并产生更难去除的较小水滴。该实验研究项目将通过开发和研究一种新型燃料-水过滤器的性能来应对这一挑战，该过滤器将深度聚结非织造介质和屏障网相结合。该项目将集中在这种混合滤波器的制造，表征和性能。利用仿生学方法解决这一问题，将设计具有一系列孔隙率和润湿性（从超疏水到超疏油）的材料，并根据燃料中水乳化液的特性系统地评估特设过滤器的性能。主要目的是i）使用仿生方法来推进结合聚结介质屏障网的混合过滤器的制造，以及ii）针对燃料中的水乳状液的特性对混合过滤器的性能进行精确研究，以深入了解过滤器的结构、其操作环境和性能之间的关系。目标是：开发生物启发的策略，使用PECVD技术在纳米级进行控制，以改变表面润湿性。通过界面的物理化学改性;表现出一系列润湿性（从超亲水性到超亲油性）的过滤器将用于对此类界面的非均质成核、生长和聚结特性进行详细研究。该项目将系统地研究过滤器的特性之间的关系（例如，润湿性，孔隙率），它们的效率（例如，压降、预期寿命、残留水）和水-柴油乳状液的性质（例如水含量、液滴尺寸、粘度、界面张力），以提供对影响从燃料中去除水的因素的新见解。潜在的应用和好处多学科项目将提供一个垫脚石，朝着先进的液-液分离技术的发展，将有利于许多行业（如石油泄漏，汽车工业，液体提取）。该项目的核心科学将有助于理解多孔介质中界面聚结机制和多相流动的复杂物理学。