Membrane Science and Technology

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Construction of nanofibrous membranes featuring stable pore channels and a heterogeneous interface structure for oil and water recovery

Authors： HUANG Zhiyang1,2, WANG Jiawei2,4, DING Yajie2,3,
WANG Jianqiang2,4, ZHOU Yong1, LIU Fu2,3

Units： 1. School of Chemical Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China；
2. Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Ningbo 315201, China； 3. Ningbo Materials Engineering College, University of Chinese Academy
of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China； 4. National Key Laboratory of Green and Efficient Development
and Utilization of Phosphate Rock and Its Co-associated Resources, Future Membrane Technology
Academy, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350108, China

KeyWords： oil-water separation; coalescence demulsification; nanofibrous membrane; pore size control; solvent-induced fiber-junction fusion; polydimethylsiloxane

ClassificationCode：TQ028.4

year,volume(issue):pagination： 2026, 46(4):68-79

Abstract：

Separation technologies based on superwetting polymeric microporous membranes can achieve single-phase recovery of either oil or water from oil-in-water emulsions, but fail to accomplish the recovery of both phases. Additionally, these methods suffer from severe membrane fouling issues. This study proposed a nanofibrous membrane with stable pore channels and a heterogeneous interface structure, which achieved long-term recovery of both oil and water phases from emulsions via a coalescence separation mechanism. First, a polyacrylonitrile nanofibrous membrane (WPANx) with a stable skeletal structure was fabricated by electrospinning combined with solvent-induced fiber-junction fusion technology, effectively suppressing fiber and pore deformation. Subsequently, modification with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was employed to construct a hydrophobic and oleophilic heterogeneous interface on the surface of the polyacrylonitrile fibers with a stable skeletal structure, yielding the polyacrylonitrile nanofibrous membrane (WPANDx) featuring stable pore channels and a heterogeneous interface structure. This heterogeneous interface promoted oil droplet coalescence and slippage, while the stable, interconnected micropores facilitated the shear and detachment of coalesced oil droplets, significantly mitigating membrane fouling. The WPAND3 membrane achieved efficient simultaneous recovery of the oil phase (with a recovery rate of 71.1% and purity >99.9%) and the water phase (with a recovery rate of 99.2% and purity >99.2%) during 12 hours of continuous operation. This work provides a promising technical solution for the efficient treatment and resource recovery of oily wastewater.

Funds：

国家自然科学基金面上项目（52373111）；贵州省科技重大计划项目（黔科合重大专项字[2024] 012）

AuthorIntro：

黄志洋（2000-），男，河南漯河人，硕士研究生，从事油水分离膜制备及其性能研究.*通讯作者, 丁雅杰, E-mail：dingyajie@nimte.ac.cn；王建强, E-mail：jqwang@fzu.edu.cn；刘富, E-mail：fu.liu@nimte.ac.cn

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