Effect of wettability on saturation distribution and separation performance in oily wastewater treatment using mixed woven fibre bed coalescers

Abstract Fibre bed coalescers are widely utilized in oil–water separation applications. Due to the diverse nature of oil–water emulsions and the complexity of the separation process mechanism, the design and operation of fibre bed coalescers still rely heavily on empirical data, warranting further investigation. In this study, two types of polymer fibres with opposite wettability in oil‐in‐water environments were respectively combined with stainless steel fibres to prepare mixed woven fibre beds. The separation performance was compared by examine the saturation distribution in the wettable and nonwettable coalescing media. The effects of key factors influencing the separation process were also explored. The saturation profiles of the wettable and nonwettable fibre beds differed, with the wettable coalescing media showing more stable performance under high inlet oil concentration compared to the nonwettable media. Additionally, an industrial‐scale trial was conducted to treat oily wastewater generated in the process of organosilicon production.