Understanding membrane pore-wetting in the membrane distillation of oil emulsions via molecular dynamics simulations

The escalating volume of oily wastewater, particularly produced water, necessitates efficient means of treatment for the recovery of both the water and oil constituents. Towards this end, membrane distillation (MD) is a promising candidate. Unfortunately, studies on the MD of oil emulsions are scarc...

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Main Authors: Velioğlu, Sadiye, Han, Le, Chew, Jia Wei
Other Authors: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/141055
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author Velioğlu, Sadiye
Han, Le
Chew, Jia Wei
author2 School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
author_facet School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
Velioğlu, Sadiye
Han, Le
Chew, Jia Wei
author_sort Velioğlu, Sadiye
collection NTU
description The escalating volume of oily wastewater, particularly produced water, necessitates efficient means of treatment for the recovery of both the water and oil constituents. Towards this end, membrane distillation (MD) is a promising candidate. Unfortunately, studies on the MD of oil emulsions are scarce, in large part because of membrane pore-wetting issues, which undermines the separation of oil and water. An earlier experimental study has indicated that membrane pore-wetting is caused by the presence of surfactant (namely, SDS) and salt (namely, NaCl), rather than oil, but the mechanisms underlying the poor performance remains unknown. Therefore, in order to improve the feasibility of MD, this molecular dynamics study is targeted at revealing the complex interactions that are detrimental to MD performance. The interactions of the three key constituents in produced water (namely, surfactant, oil and salt) among themselves and with the membrane are studied. The worst membrane pore-wetting experimentally observed for feeds containing SDS and NaCl is because NaCl increased the SDS-PVDF affinity without decreasing the mobility of SDS, and thereby leads to decreased surface tension and the increased likelihood of exceeding the liquid entry pressure (LEP). Accordingly, in order to mitigate pore-wetting in the membrane distillation of such feeds, means towards reducing the surfactant-membrane affinity, rather than oil-membrane affinity, and surfactant mobility near the membrane are recommended.
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spelling ntu-10356/1410552020-06-03T09:14:48Z Understanding membrane pore-wetting in the membrane distillation of oil emulsions via molecular dynamics simulations Velioğlu, Sadiye Han, Le Chew, Jia Wei School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute Singapore Membrane Technology Centre Engineering::Chemical engineering Anionic Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate Membrane Distillation The escalating volume of oily wastewater, particularly produced water, necessitates efficient means of treatment for the recovery of both the water and oil constituents. Towards this end, membrane distillation (MD) is a promising candidate. Unfortunately, studies on the MD of oil emulsions are scarce, in large part because of membrane pore-wetting issues, which undermines the separation of oil and water. An earlier experimental study has indicated that membrane pore-wetting is caused by the presence of surfactant (namely, SDS) and salt (namely, NaCl), rather than oil, but the mechanisms underlying the poor performance remains unknown. Therefore, in order to improve the feasibility of MD, this molecular dynamics study is targeted at revealing the complex interactions that are detrimental to MD performance. The interactions of the three key constituents in produced water (namely, surfactant, oil and salt) among themselves and with the membrane are studied. The worst membrane pore-wetting experimentally observed for feeds containing SDS and NaCl is because NaCl increased the SDS-PVDF affinity without decreasing the mobility of SDS, and thereby leads to decreased surface tension and the increased likelihood of exceeding the liquid entry pressure (LEP). Accordingly, in order to mitigate pore-wetting in the membrane distillation of such feeds, means towards reducing the surfactant-membrane affinity, rather than oil-membrane affinity, and surfactant mobility near the membrane are recommended. MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore) EDB (Economic Devt. Board, S’pore) 2020-06-03T09:14:48Z 2020-06-03T09:14:48Z 2018 Journal Article Velioğlu, S., Han, L., & Chew, J. W. (2018). Understanding membrane pore-wetting in the membrane distillation of oil emulsions via molecular dynamics simulations. Journal of Membrane Science, 551, 76-84. doi:10.1016/j.memsci.2018.01.027 0376-7388 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/141055 10.1016/j.memsci.2018.01.027 2-s2.0-85041468057 551 76 84 en Journal of Membrane Science © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
spellingShingle Engineering::Chemical engineering
Anionic Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate
Membrane Distillation
Velioğlu, Sadiye
Han, Le
Chew, Jia Wei
Understanding membrane pore-wetting in the membrane distillation of oil emulsions via molecular dynamics simulations
title Understanding membrane pore-wetting in the membrane distillation of oil emulsions via molecular dynamics simulations
title_full Understanding membrane pore-wetting in the membrane distillation of oil emulsions via molecular dynamics simulations
title_fullStr Understanding membrane pore-wetting in the membrane distillation of oil emulsions via molecular dynamics simulations
title_full_unstemmed Understanding membrane pore-wetting in the membrane distillation of oil emulsions via molecular dynamics simulations
title_short Understanding membrane pore-wetting in the membrane distillation of oil emulsions via molecular dynamics simulations
title_sort understanding membrane pore wetting in the membrane distillation of oil emulsions via molecular dynamics simulations
topic Engineering::Chemical engineering
Anionic Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate
Membrane Distillation
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/141055
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AT chewjiawei understandingmembraneporewettinginthemembranedistillationofoilemulsionsviamoleculardynamicssimulations