Preparation and characterization of nano-demulsifier ZIF-8@CNTs based on MOFs for O/W emulsion demulsification

Oil in water (O/W) and water in oil (W/O) crude oil emulsions have caused many production safety hazards and environmental problems, which have attracted widespread attention. In this article, an amphiphilic nano demulsifier ZIF-8@CNTs was prepared by solvothermal method based on the metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) showed that ZIF-8@CNTs were grape dendritic, and ZIF-8 was successfully combined with OX-CNTs. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that ZIF-8@CNTs had good thermal stability. The demulsification test showed that the demulsification rate could reach 99.4% when ZC-1 was added at 500 mg/L for 30 min at room temperature. The demulsification mechanism was studied by interfacial tension and interfacial activity experiments.