Fabrication of renewable gutta percha/silylated nanofibers membrane for highly effective oil-water emulsions separation

Oil contaminant in water has become serious environmental pollution that causes danger for human health. Membrane separation technology is considered as one of the most efficient treatment for oily wastewater. Here, we report that the renewable hydrophobic membranes for oil-water emulsions separation were fabricated by incorporating gutta percha (GP) into silylated nanofibers (SNF) from herbal residues. The obtained membranes were characterized by Raman spectra, XPS, XRD, SEM, AFM, TGA, and DSC. Subsequently, the effects of gutta percha loading levels on membrane hydrophobicity, mechanical property, water vapor permeability, and efficacy of oil-water emulsions separation were investigated. Incorporation of GP into SNF is benefit for enhancing hydrophobicity, thermal stability, and mechanical performance. More importantly, these GP/SNF membranes exhibited high-efficiency separation ability for oil-water emulsions. Especially, GP/SNF-20 membrane presented the highest permeation fluxes of 3624, 3308, 3186 and 2866 L m(-2) h(-1) W-1 for separation of petroleum ether, dichloromethane, toluene, and cyclohexane-in-water emulsions, respectively.