Sponge: Flow dynamics in surface engineered sponges for the filtration of oil contaminated water
Reclamation of oil-contaminated wastewater is a global environmental and energy challenge. Recently, we invented surface-engineered sponges (SEnS) and implemented them as the separation media in low-pressure filters for ultrafast capture (adsorption) and recovery of oil from the wastewater. The effectiveness of SEnS in oil removal depends on the interplay between their surface wetting properties (e.g. surface chemistry, roughness) and oil/water mixtures flow velocity. However, the evolution of oil and water wetting of these novel SEnS under dynamic flow conditions is unknows.
We investigate the relationship between the surface properties of the SEnS, developed by our partner from MIT (contact: Pavani Cherukupally) and dynamic flow conditions of oil and water with 4D visualization using the EMCT at Ghent University. The in-situ visualization of the oil/water flow behaviour inside the SEnS will provide best design and operating conditions for their practical usage in oil field wastewater remediation and resource recovery.
This project is supported by the Excite Network.