A novel lotus-seedpod shaped separation membrane with efficient oil harvesting function for oil/water system

Facing the energy crisis and environmental problems, the technologies of harvesting oil from offshore oil spills are attracting worldwide attention. In the current study, a novel biomimetic acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) @ polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) -g- polyvinylpyrrolidone methacrylic acid (PMAA) membrane was constructed by the combination of three-dimensional (3D) printing and gamma-ray irradiation strategies. The prepared ABS@ PVDF-g-PMAA membrane presented a “lotus seedpod” shape. The water contact angle (WCA) of the membrane surface was decreased to 62.3°, which indicated hydrophilicity. The experimental data showed that the membrane displayed a flux of 22,413 L·m−2·h−1 and a harvesting efficiency of over 99 % from the oil/water mixture, which exceeded the previous literature. Moreover, the 10 cycles filtration tests verified the stability and antifouling ability of the membrane. Meanwhile, the membrane occupied a harvesting rate of 98.1 % and a flux of 9561 L·m−2·h−1 bar−1 for the oil/water emulsion system, exhibiting excellent filtration and anti-fouling performance after 5 cycles of filtration tests. This study not only supplied a novel biomimetic separation membrane but also pointed out a potential solution for offshore oil spills.