Stacked meshes with super-wettability <i>via</i> atmospheric plasma for efficient emulsion separation.

Abstract

Common filter membranes for emulsion separation often require time-intensive preparation and extensive use of chemicals, necessitating a fast-processing and eco-friendly alternative. This study introduces a 2-layer stacked nylon mesh treated with surface diffuse atmospheric plasma (SDAP) for rapid and efficient emulsion separation. Commercial nylon mesh exhibited durable super-wetting properties after just 30 s of SDAP treatment, which was sufficient for effective emulsion separation. Multi-layer stacking further enhanced the oil-blocking capacity, with pre-wetted 2-layer meshes achieving over 98% separation efficiency, a flux exceeding 56 000 L m^-2 h^-1 bar^-1 and excellent anti-aging performance, demonstrating applicability across various emulsions simultaneously. The emulsion droplet dynamics within the filter cake revealed high efficiency, offering valuable insights into membrane fouling issues. Furthermore, this work develops SDAP as a promising approach for material treatment, owing to its fast and environmentally friendly processing, scalable set-up and effectiveness under atmospheric conditions.