Oil–water separation in membranes traditionally involves the transfer of water through the membrane. Instead, this study presents the novel approach of permeating insoluble oil through a hydrophobic membrane while rejecting the water. Benefits of this oil–water separation method appear to include both efficient separation and creation of a high-quality oil permeate stream as well as reduced surface area requirements. In the membrane process, oil flux is controlled by both the coalescence of oil droplets on the membrane surface and the selective permeation of oil through the microporous membrane wall. These competing mechanisms were investigated over a range of key process parameters including influent oil concentration, flow rate, transmembrane pressure, and viscosity as well as key membrane properties including membrane surface area and fiber spacing. Ultimately, a deterministic model for the effective surface area was developed to aid in the preliminary design and operation of a microporous hydrophobic membrane contactor that recovers insoluble oil from oil–water mixtures.

中文翻译：

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疏水性中空纤维膜接触器直接从水中分离油的机理

膜中的油水分离传统上涉及水通过膜的转移。相反，这项研究提出了一种新方法，即通过疏水膜渗透不溶性油，同时排斥水。这种油水分离方法的好处似乎包括有效分离和产生高质量的油渗透流以及减少表面积要求。在膜过程中，油通量受膜表面油滴的聚结和油通过微孔膜壁的选择性渗透控制。这些相互竞争的机制在一系列关键工艺参数上进行了研究，包括进水油浓度、流速、跨膜压力、和粘度以及关键的膜特性，包括膜表面积和纤维间距。最终，开发了有效表面积的确定性模型，以帮助从油水混合物中回收不溶性油的微孔疏水膜接触器的初步设计和操作。