1. Demulsification of Water-Oil Emulsion by Nano-Structured Surfaces
MuS ES
Multi-Scale Energy Systems Laboratory
Dennis Desheng Meng, MuSES Laboratory, MEEM, Michigan Technological University
Demulsification of water-in-oil emulsion is an important issue in petroleum production. The current practice often relies on heavy usage of chemical demulsifiers, which are consumable, environmentally unfriendly, and prone to interfere with subsequent processes. In this project, we explore the demulsification of water-in-oil emulsion using hydrophilic nanofibres implanted on hydrophobic surfaces. The working mechanism is inspired by amphiphilic copolymers, a type of chemical demulsifiers previously proven to be effective. We have demonstrated the basic process to obtain vertically aligned nanotube on the surface and the treatment to improve the hydrophilicity of the material, both under room temperature.
FITC
GFP
treated
untreated
(a) Polyester
(b) ITO
1 mm
CNT
deposition on a flexible substrate
Fig. 1. Vertically-aligned CNTs
by HVEPD process
Antifouling superhydrophilic surfaces