Hydrogel-Ceramic Composite for Efficient Oil Water Separation in Emulsified System

Water pollution due to oil remains a prominent environmental concern, primarily driven by escalating incidents of oil spills, intensive petroleum operations, rapid expansion of the food industry, and the growth of textile, metal, and leather sectors. Oily wastewater discharged from these industries aggravates the problem, posing a significant threat to soil quality, water bodies, aquatic ecosystems, and human health. Ships discharge bilge oily water which is governed by MARPOL. Although numerous techniques and materials are available for oil-water separation, filtration material systems exhibit promise due to their expansive surface area, appropriate pore sizes, lightweight structure, and cost-effectiveness. Filtration systems being invested across the community are majorly made of polymers and ceramics. Polysulfone (PSf), Polyacrylonitrile (PAN), Cellulose Acetate (CA), Sodium Alginate (NaAlg), Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) are some of the polymers which, post morphological and chemical modification using functional groups are used for oil water separation. Across ceramic membranes, Titania (TiO₂), Silicon Carbide (SiC), Alumina (Al₂O₃), Silicon Nitride (Si₃N₄) etc. have been explored. A novel composite of Hydrogel with ceramic membrane made of Alumina, Zirconia and SiC has been tailored for efficient oil-water separation. The composite shows very high separation efficiency (beyond 99%) with very good antifouling properties. Furthermore, it is non-toxic and has very high pH and salinity resistance. The composite has potential to be used for pressure driven operations in industries for a high flux and better separation efficiency for continuous oil-water separation where water is in continuous phase.