Polyamide 6.6 separates oil/water due to its dual underwater oleophobicity/underoil hydrophobicity: Role of 2D and 3D porous structures

Pei Zhao, Na Qin, Carolyn L. Ren, John Z. Wen


Abstract
Abstract Porous polyamide functionalized by plasma or various coatings has been investigated for oil/water separation. In literature, polyamide has rarely been studied for oil removal, and this work investigated the performance of bare polyamide 6.6 (nylon 6.6) in terms of the oil/water separation efficiency and the intrusion pressure, inspiring cost-effective solutions for large-scale oil removal in the industry. Both polyamide meshes possessing two-dimensional (2D) one-layer pores and nonwoven fabrics with three-dimensional (3D) irregular pores were found to be able to separate oil/water with a high efficiency above 98.5%. This finding was attributed to the dual underwater oleophobicity and underoil hydrophobicity of these polyamide samples. The roles of 2D and 3D structures in oil/water separation were illustrated, to provide a new insight into filter designing. Due to its greater intrusion pressure, the 3D netting structure was suggested as being more beneficial for oil/water separation than the 2D structure.
Cite:
Pei Zhao, Na Qin, Carolyn L. Ren, and John Z. Wen. 2019. Polyamide 6.6 separates oil/water due to its dual underwater oleophobicity/underoil hydrophobicity: Role of 2D and 3D porous structures. Applied Surface Science, Volume 466, 466:282–288.
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