Oil/water separation, especially emulsified oil/water mixture separation, has become a widespread concern because of the severe fouling problem caused by the easy adsorption of oil droplets onto the surfaces of filtration membranes. Many strategies have been employed to eliminate the fouling problem, but it remains a challenge and impedes the development of membrane technology. In this short review, we discuss the recent development of membrane technology for emulsified oil/water separation. As shown in the image, in addition to polymer- and ceramic-dominated traditional membranes, nanomaterial-based membranes have recently demonstrated their superiority and have achieved high performance.
- Yuzhang Zhu
- Dong Wang
- Jian Jin