Abstract
This study aims to produce polypropylene (PP)/titanium dioxide (TiO2) melt-blown membranes for oil/water separation and photocatalysis. PP and different contents of TiO2 are melt-blended to prepare master batches using a single screw extruder. The master batches are then fabricated into PP/TiO2 melt-blown membranes. The thermal properties of the master batches are analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis, and their particle dispersion and melt-blown membrane morphology are evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. TiO2 loaded on melt-blown membranes is confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The oil/water separation ability of the melt-blown membranes is evaluated to examine the influence of TiO2 content. Results show that the thermal stability and photocatalytic effect of the membranes increase with TiO2 content. TiO2 shows a good dispersion in the PP membranes. After 3 wt.% TiO2 addition, crystallinity increases by 6.4%, thermal decomposition temperature increases by 25 °C compared with pure PP membranes. The resultant PP/TiO2 melt-blown membrane has a good morphology, and better hydrophobicity even in acetone solution or 6 h ultraviolet irradiation, and a high oil flux of about 15,000 L·m−2·h−1. Moreover, the membranes have stabilized oil/water separation efficiency after being repeatedly used. The proposed melt-blown membranes are suitable for mass production for separating oil from water in massively industrial dyeing wastewater.
Highlights
Water pollution problems have given rise to strong repercussions in society, for oily wastewater pollution
The cold crystallization peak increases with TiO2 content, indicating that the crystallization rate of the PP/TiO2 master batch
PP/TiO2 master batches using a extruder, afterstudy, which the prepared into PP/TiO
Summary
Water pollution problems have given rise to strong repercussions in society, for oily wastewater pollution. This considerable amount of oily wastewater usually comes from textile, petrochemical, and steel factories. Oil/water mixtures can be purified by some mechanical devices, such as skimmers, air flotation, centrifugation, booms, and chemical coagulation. These purifying methods need to input energy and high pressure to operate [3,4]. Porous materials such as foam [5,6] and textiles [7,8]
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