Anti-fouling MOF/APT/PEG composite membranes with excellent durability for oil-in-water emulsion separation

Membrane technology has become one of the most effective methods for treating oily wastewater, which is harmful to the survival of ecosystems. However, separation membranes often suffer from serious fouling problems. Therefore, in this work, MOF-303 nanoparticles and attapulgites (APT) were loaded on the surface of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane based on the layer-by-layer self-assembly to construct MOF/APT/PEG composite membrane with excellent superhydrophilicity/underwater superoleophobicity, anti-fouling ability and outstanding emulsion separation performance, durability. It should be noted that a unique “absorption-storage” strategy for water molecules has been creatively adopted to realize anti-fouling and promote permeability. The separation efficiency of MOF/APT/PEG composite membrane was as high as 99.6 %, and permeability was above 1316 LMH/bar. Particularly, separation performance still remained stable after 10 cycles and 60 min of cross-flow separation. This study introduces a comprehensive and straightforward methodology for the development of membranes with anti-fouling properties aimed at the highly efficient treatment of oily wastewater.