Abstract
Oil and gas wastewater refers to the waste stream produced in special production activities such as drilling and fracturing. This kind of wastewater has the following characteristics: high salinity, high chromaticity, toxic and harmful substances, poor biodegradability, and a difficulty to treat. Interestingly, nanomaterials show great potential in water treatment technology because of their small size, large surface area, and high surface energy. When nanotechnology is combined with membrane treatment materials, nanofiber membranes with a controllable pore size and high porosity can be prepared, which provides more possibilities for oil–water separation. In this review, the important applications of nanomaterials in wastewater treatment, including membrane separation technology and photocatalysis technology, are summarized. Membrane separation technology is mainly manifested in ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO). It also focuses on the application of semiconductor photocatalysis technology induced by TiO2 in the degradation of oil and gas wastewater. Finally, the development trends of nanomaterials in oil and gas wastewater treatment are prospected.
Highlights
Despite the sharp drop in oil prices, the importance of oil as a national strategic resource is still self-evident
This review mainly addresses the application of nanomaterials in the treatment of oil and gas wastewater, including membrane separation technology and photocatalysis technology, and summarizes the progress of photocatalysis treatment of different types of oil and gas produced by water with TiO2 as the research object, including its influencing factors, the main limitations faced by TiO2, the enhancement of photocatalytic performance, and the prospect of the future
Polymer is a kind of membrane material widely used in wastewater treatment, though it is limited in the application of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polysulfone (PSF)
Summary
Despite the sharp drop in oil prices, the importance of oil as a national strategic resource is still self-evident. Nano-materials usually refer to ultra-fine materials whose size is less than 100 nm They show unique properties in light, heat, electricity, magnetism, mechanics and chemistry because of their large specific surface area and high surface energy. These materials have two potential applications in wastewater treatment: (1) integrating with membrane separation technology to treat oil and gas wastewater, including NF, UF, RO separation membrane; and (2) using the photocatalytic properties of some nanoparticles (TiO2 , ZnO2 , Fe2 O3 , etc.) to realize the oxidative decomposition of pollutants under light, so as to achieve the purpose of wastewater purification [11]. This review mainly addresses the application of nanomaterials in the treatment of oil and gas wastewater, including membrane separation technology and photocatalysis technology, and summarizes the progress of photocatalysis treatment of different types of oil and gas produced by water with TiO2 as the research object, including its influencing factors, the main limitations faced by TiO2 , the enhancement of photocatalytic performance, and the prospect of the future
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