Emulsion filtration through surface modified ceramic membranes

In this work we studied the influence of membrane hydrophobicity on the filtration of oil/water (O/W) emulsions with a dispersed phase content of 30% (V/V), The membrane filtration process was realized by using ceramic tubular hydrophilic or hydrophobic membranes with different mean pore size (0.2 mum, 1.2 mum, and 1.4 mum of mean pore radius). Hydrophobic character was obtained by modeling superficially the membrane surface with a very thin polymer layer. The results obtained showed that the emulsion viscosity and droplet size distribution depend on the shearing forces and transmembrane pressure. The operating conditions and the nature of the membrane surface/emulsion interaction are the main parameters which control the hype and nature of emulsion changes, such as modification of the mean droplet size, concentration into oleic phase or breaking.