Enhancing Oil Rejection in PVDF and PSF membranes: The Role of SiO2 NPs

Abstract

Oily water negatively affects both land and marine ecosystems. To combat this, membrane production can effectively treat oil waste and recycle over 90% of it. This study compares the influence of SiO₂ nanoparticles on oil rejection in two types of membranes: polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polysulfone (PSF). The SiO₂ NPs are characterized by FTIR, SEM analysis, and zeta potential measurements. SiO₂ NPs embedded PSF and PVDF membranes were characterized by FTIR, SEM analysis, contact angle, water permeability, oil rejection measurements, and recycling experiments. The results of the experiments showed that oil rejection reached maximum values of 92.2% for 2 wt% PSF/SiO₂, and 94.1% for 2 wt% PVDF/SiO₂ membranes. The experimental results demonstrate that the incorporation of SiO₂ nanoparticles enhances the oil rejection efficiency of two distinct membrane types, exhibiting notable performance disparities contingent on the selected membrane material. This methodology achieves a recycling rate of over 90% for oil waste, signifying a substantial advancement in environmental protection and sustainable development. Consequently, the membrane production technique is regarded as an efficacious approach for the management and recycling of oil waste.