An integrated oil-water separation apparatus to separate free, dispersed and emulsified oil contaminations from oil-water mixture

从废水中分离稀油污染物是食品、金属加工和石油工业等各行各业的一个实际问题。废水中低浓度油的存在对常规分离方法的效率提出了挑战，特别是当油具有粘性、分散性和与水相似的密度时。我们建议使用先进的工程材料制造定制的油水分离集成系统。与其他系统不同，我们提出的设备可以分离所有形式的油污染，包括游离油、分散油和乳化油。采用超疏水和超亲油膜，在分离的第一步，将游离油和大油滴被动地从水中分离出来。在这个阶段，超疏水和超亲油膜捕获自由和分散的油污染。由于固体颗粒通常处于水相，因此不会弄湿我们的疏水膜，因此我们提出的膜不太容易受到污染。在第二阶段，在微真空条件下操作的功能化不锈钢刷将油滴与导线之间的高毛细压力区域接触时分离。有可能在水相中留下微和纳米乳化油污染物，而这些污染物在前两个阶段中没有被分离。我们将使用功能化的磁性纳米颗粒来封装纳米级的油滴，在施加磁场的情况下进行分离。乳剂通常通过超滤、溶气浮法和混凝等高能耗工艺分离。我们提出的使用磁性纳米颗粒的方法是一种被动分离方法，它使用永磁体提供的磁场，具有最小的能量需求。磁场增加了分离乳化油滴的驱动力。这对于加拿大的重油和沥青来说是非常有趣的，因为在这些稠油和沥青中，油的密度可能与水相的密度相似，从而导致分离过程的显著延迟。该设备可以定制，以适应加拿大碳氢化合物的恶劣流体特性，如重质原油、高沥青质和树脂含量，通过选择耐腐蚀性化学品的湿材料。提出的油水分离系统将有助于研究诸如分散油水流动的流体动力学以及与乳液、蜡、水合物和沥青质沉淀/沉积和去除相关的流动保证策略等领域的研究。该实验装置将对含油废水的分离和低能量输入下的溢油去除产生重要影响。此外，拟议的系统将能够培训hqp，包括化学工程、环境工程和机械工程领域的本科生和研究生。********

Separating dilute oil contaminations from wastewater is a practical problem in various industries such as food, metal processing, and petroleum industries. The presence of low concentration oil in wastewater challenges the efficiency of conventional separation methods, especially when the oil is viscous, dispersed, and has a density similar to water. We propose to fabricate a customized and integrated system for oil-water separation, using advanced and engineered materials. Unlike alternative systems, our proposed equipment can separate all forms of oil contaminations, including free oil, dispersed oil, and emulsified oil. Using superhydrophobic and superoleophilic membranes, in the first step of separation, the free oil and large oil droplets are passively separated from the water. In this stage, superhydrophobic and superoleophilic membranes capture free and dispersed oil contaminations. Our proposed membranes are less prone to fouling as the solid particles are usually in the water phase that do not wet our hydrophobic membranes. In the second stage, functionalized stainless steel brushes that are operated under a slight vacuum condition will separate the oil droplets when they are in contact with the high capillary pressure areas between the wires. There is a possibility of having micro- and nano-emulsified oil contaminations left in the aqueous phase that is not separated in the previous two stages. We will use functionalized magnetic nanoparticles to encapsulate the nano-sized oil droplets to be separated upon applying a magnetic field. The emulsions are usually separated through energy-intensive processes such as ultrafiltration, dissolved air floatation, and coagulation. Our proposed method of using the magnetic nanoparticles is a passive separation method that uses a magnetic field supplied by permanent magnets, having a minimum energy demand. The magnetic field increases the driving force in separating the emulsified oil droplets. This can be of great interest to the Canadian heavy oil and bitumen, where the density of the oil can be similar to that of the water phase, leading to a significant delay in the separation process. The equipment can be customized to tolerate the harsh fluid characteristics of the Canadian hydrocarbons, such as heavy crude oil, high asphaltene, and resin contents, by choosing wetted materials that resist harsh chemicals. The proposed oil-water separation system will enable research studies in areas such as flow hydrodynamics of dispersed oil-water flow and flow assurance strategies related to emulsions, wax, hydrate, and asphaltene precipitation/deposition and removal. Also, the proposed experimental set up will have a great impact on the separation of oily wastewater and oil spill removal at low energy input. Additionally, the proposed system will enable training HQPs, including undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of chemical engineering, environmental engineering, and mechanical engineering.********