Research into the Influence of Filtration Media Microstructure on Oil–Water Separation Performance

Oil-water separation materials with specialized wettability have garnered significant attention in the field of oil-water separation due to the advantages of simple use and no secondary pollution. However, the adsorptive contamination of the filter surface by impurity phases and surfactants can cause a shift in the wettability of the filter surface. For efficient oil-water separation and improved resistance to adherent contamination on the oil-water separation membrane surface, herein, superwetted Cu nanofilms and smooth hydrophobic surfaces were prepared on SSM substrates by one-step electrodeposition and immersion methods, respectively. For water-in-oil/oil-in-water emulsions, nano-Cu has high separation efficiency. Experimentally, it was analyzed that the smaller spacing between the pores of the mesh membrane and the micro-nanostructures makes the separation effect better, but the flux will be reduced accordingly. By studying the separation images during the actual separation process through optical microscopy, it was found that the increase in the efficiency of the mesh membrane during the oil-water separation process and the decrease in the flux were due to the impurity phases aggregating and clogging the pores during the separation process to achieve a reduction in the pore size and the spacing of the micro-nanostructures. And further verification of the stability and mechanism correctness of the nano-Cu mesh film was conducted using cyclic experiments. The surface adhesion mechanism of filtration materials was analyzed by studying the phenomenon of water droplet adhesion on different mesh membranes and the ratio of adhesion. The research findings provide a comprehensive analysis of oil-water separation materials, focusing on both separation effectiveness and antiadhesion properties. This study offers new insights into the design of efficient oil-water separation materials and holds significant implications for advancing the practical application of oil-water separation membranes.