Modification and Characterization of Regenerated Cellulose Ultrafiltration Membranes for Treatment of Produced Water

摘要

Produced water is oily wastewater that is co-produced during oil and gas exploration. Developing a technique that is economically viable and environmentally friendly to treat the large volumes of produced water is a grand challenge for oil and gas companies. Membrane based treatment processes for oily waters often fail due to membrane fouling. We hypothesize that grafting block copolymer nanolayers from commercial membranes will change the surface properties in ways that limit foulant accumulation on these membranes and provide an easy, chemical-free way to remove any attached foulants.