Optimizing PVDF Membranes Performance with Rotary Spacer Membrane Filtration System for Oil/Water Emulsion

The treatment of oily wastewater poses significant environmental and economic challenges, necessitating innovative solutions that combine effective separation technologies with enhanced antifouling properties. This study introduces the integration of a high-performance modified PVDF membrane and rotary spacer membrane filtration system for fouling mitigation in treating oily wastewater in the form of oil/water emulsion. This study shows that the modified and plain PVDF membranes achieved the highest permeabilities of 610.71±25.25, and 175.51±2.72 L.m -2 .h -1 .bar -1 ., respectively when applied in the rotary spacer membrane filtration system due to hydrodynamic effect generated by the spacer rotation. The spacer rotation speed and spacer-to-membrane gap were varied to investigate the effect of those parameters on the membrane hydraulic performance. This study reveals that increasing the spacer rotation speed up to 50 RPM improves the permeability of both membranes, but different behaviors were observed when the speed was further increased which is believed due to the distinct properties of the membranes. Meanwhile, reducing the spacer-to-membrane gap slightly enhances the permeability for both membranes. This study demonstrates that the rotary spacer filtration system is able to help the modified membrane to achieve its optimum performance thus offers a competitive approach for effective membrane fouling control.