Water purification from oil and petrol products by means of nano-porous super-hydrophilic materials

Introduction. This article reveals the research results of physical and chemical properties of the new filtering material, evaluation of its hydrophilic and oleophobic features as well as the efficiency of oil-in-water emulsions separation in laboratory conditions and in production. Methods and materials. As the base for creation of new filtering material a natural mixture of minerals with good prevalence of silicon earth also including some small amounts of fissile hydrous silicates (mica, clay) was chosen, which provide the durability of granulated end product at reservation of porosity and hydrophilic properties of the material surface. The research used spherical shape granules of various particle size obtained by drying, granulation and firing. Prior to filtration the granules are being impregnated with water aiming to obtain a water shell around each granule, which provides granules protection from oil and petrol products contamination as well as an easy filter cleaning by backwashing in fluidization mode. For the lab testing of oil-in-water emulsions separation parameters a test rig was built. In process a set of various tool methods of physical and chemical research was used. Results. The chemical and mineral composition of the developed filtering material and the results of its X-ray-structural analysis, photomicrography of ground substrate obtained with SEM are given as well as the porous structure data (pores size distribution and aggregate pores of granules material) obtained by the method of low-temperature nitrogen adsorption. The results of laboratory and pilot testing of separating and accumulating ability of the filtering material are presented. Interpretation. The obtained data prove the fact that the developed material possesses over the prominent hydrophilic properties, while after water shell creation also over the oleophobic properties. Upon exploration of the two liquid immiscible phases separation during the filtering through the granules obtained, a significant efficiency growth of the filter after attaining the special amount of oil and petrol products retained by the filter was detected. The efficiency increase of the filter is connected with formation of a prolonged structure, which was named by the authors a “fluid net”, created by the oil and petrol products entrapped. The strings of that “fluid net” being formed in the gaps between the granules are decreasing the sizes of the passages which lets the entrapping efficiency of finer oil and petrol products droplets grow. Conclusion. The obtained nano-porous granules of the filtering material exhibit super-hydrophilic properties and based on the water shell created around them provide the following: protection of granules from contamination with oil and petrol products contained in water to be purified; effective and not decreasing over the course of time filter regeneration by means of backwashing in fluidization mode; quality of water purification from oil and petrol products at the level of the most expensive purification methods. Prospective fields of applications. The “OreFilter” technology developed has passed the pilot scale validation on the basis of more than fifty industrial objects of different industrial branches (mainly on those connected with oil production and oil refining) in Russia and abroad. The technology is now being tested on industrial objects in the Near East, Canada, US, Brazil and Australia. The industrial filtering units using “OreFilter” technology are already in operation on Russian enterprises as well as in Sweden and Germany. The experimental-industrial tests have proved the application efficiency of the technology developed: in food industry; at the detergents and soaps manufacturing plants; at mining and processing plants; at purification of ballast and bilge water at ports; at purification of polluted water after oil tankers washing; in fish farming; in seaquariums and dolphinariums.