RESUMO
The separation of multicomponent and multiphase liquid mixtures is critical in many important applications, e.g., wastewater treatment. While conventional technologies have been utilized in the separation, it usually takes many steps, resulting in high cost and energy consumption. Here we have demonstrated that, using a 3D-printed membrane device with multiple selectivity, a multicomponent and multiphase liquid mixture can be separated in a much more efficient way. The water-benzene-heptane mixture has been successfully separated with a 3D-printed "box", which has a supported ionic liquid membrane (SILM) on the side wall and a hydrogel-coated hydrophilic/oleophobic membrane on the bottom. The water and oil (i.e., benzene/heptane) are separated by the hydrogel-coated hydrophilic/oleophobic membrane. Then the benzene is separated from heptane with the SILM. To further increase the separation throughput, the structure of the 3D-printed "box" has been optimized to increase the total surface area of SILM. Our results suggest that 3D-printed membrane device with multiple selectivity is promising in the separation of multicomponent and multiphase liquid mixtures.
RESUMO
While it is difficult and expensive to fabricate a complicated surface structure via conventional techniques, three-dimensional (3D) printing serves as a time-efficient and cost-efficient alternative. In the current study, a novel repeating re-entrant topography is fabricated by two-photon polymerization 3D printing. The experimental results show that the repeating re-entrant surface enhances the desired on-demand surface wettability. Moreover, the 3D-printed membranes with the repeating re-entrant structures enable the efficient on-demand separation of liquid mixtures with high flux, which is critical for the wastewater treatment in the chemical industry.