Development of Ultra Lightweight Highly Selective Filters for Oil-Water Mixtures
Personnel
| Chevron | TU PI's | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Seyia Odueyungbo | Erin Iski | Anisha Mule |
| Ovadia Shoham |
Abstract
Emulsions formed by oil-water mixtures can cause serious issues at different stages of crude oil production, produced water remediation, and oil spills. Therefore, their separation is highly demanded. Efficient, cost-effective processes for oil–water separation, either emulsion or dispersion, are highly desired. Filters are among the most common means employed to separate oil-water emulsions into their corresponding components. To conduct single step gravity-based or centrifugal separation of oil–water mixtures, it is essential that the filter be hydrophilic and oleophobic both in air and water. It should also have high surface porosity, which affects the rate of permeation of one phase. The filter medium should be stable at operating temperatures and pressures and be resistant to degradation by chemicals in the feed stream. Favorable oil rejection characteristics, resistance to fouling by organic and inorganic foulants and low cost of production are also important. In this project, it is intended to develop ultra-lightweight filters that are durable, highly porous, self-sufficient and selectively separate oil-water mixtures, from non-woven cellulose based materials by electrospinning. It is believed that since electrospinning is a cost-efficient, scalable method that can fabricate filters with very thin nanoscale fibers and nano-dimension pores, and cellulose is a very cheap and abundant ingredient, these filters may be considered as a novel approach in efficient, cost-effective separation of oil-water emulsions in industry. Currently there is a growing demand for highly porous selective filters for oil-water mixtures in the petroleum industry. These filters are beneficial to both manufacturers and consumers.This research focuses on the development and characterization of the new filter material. Its suitability for oil-water separation will be evaluated. The ability of the filter medium to withstand and operate at subsea temperatures and pressures will be assessed in the TUSTP Separations Facility, after successfully completing the characterization test program. However, the use of the filter medium is not limited to subsea oil/water separation applications.