Tailoring the structure and property of microfiltration carbon membranes by polyacrylonitrile-based microspheres for oil-water emulsion separation

Abstract Microfiltration carbon membranes (MFCMs) were prepared and modified by incorporating polyacrylonitrile-based microspheres. The thermal stability, microstructure, morphology and porous structure of the membrane samples were analyzed. The effects of preparation and operation parameters on the oil removal of MFCMs for oil-water emulsion were investigated. Results demonstrate that the addition of microspheres effectively adjusts the porous structure, adsorption property and oil removal of MFCMs. For MFCMs made by the precursor containing 35 wt.% microspheres, the highest oil removal is achieved to 93.6%, along with the permeation flux of 251.1 Kg/m2·h under the operation condition of feed oil concentration at 50 mg/L, trans-membrane pressure at 0.03 MPa and feed flowrate at 6 mL/min.