U.S. Develops Smart Filter Coating

U.S. University of Michigan has developed a surface-deformable intelligent filter coating that separates oil from water using only gravity, and will play a very important role in oil spill pollution cleaning, sewage treatment, oil purification in fuel applications, and cosmetic industries. Beneficial effect. The results of the study were published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Communications.

Aniish, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Michigan, said that the system does not use additional chemical cleaners, nor does it use after the addition of detergents. Instead, it establishes a filter coating that repels oil but attracts water. The performance of traditional materials provides a more effective method of eliminating crude oil from waterways.

The coating has a hydrophilic and oleophobic effect consisting of a blended rubber, a commercially available polymer and a novel nanoparticle. The polymer can easily form hydrogen bonds with water; nanoparticles lack surface energy and are not wetted by petroleum. Through microscope observation, the deformation of the surface of the filter coating can be clearly seen. When the water is touched, the coating becomes smoother, and the polymer in the coating can be combined with water and smoothly passed through the filter. Keep oil on top.

In the experiment, the researchers produced four different types of oil/water mixtures, such as oil-in-water emulsions and water-in-oil emulsions. The mixture passed through a membrane and achieved 99.9% efficiency in separating free oil and water. The researchers explained that when the coating is exposed to water, the components of the polymer and nanoparticle on it rapidly form different structures, promoting the binding of water molecules to the polymer. As the surface structure of the coating is distorted, the polymer relies on capillary action to drive more water through the filter while the oil remains on top of the filter.

The researchers said that the coating created a smart filter while using gravity and capillary action to allow only water to pass through. In the absence of clogging, this coating filter can be used for more than 100 hours, which is a great advancement in today's existing technologies.

This is the cheapest, energy-efficient way to separate oil-water mixtures. This surface-shaped deformable smart filter coating can separate oil and water in the environmental cleanup of oil spill accidents. In addition, the technology can also be used in wastewater treatment, petroleum purification in fuel applications, and the cosmetics industry.