Superhydrophilic hydrolyzed-TEOS modified rPET/PEG/SiO2 membranes for oil-in-water emulsion separation

A superhydrophilic composite membrane made from hydrolyzed TEOS-modified recycled PET (rPET), polyethylene glycol (PEG), and silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) has been developed for effective oil-in-water separation. This membrane exhibited superhydrophilicity, excellent anti-fouling properties, and high separation efficiency for surfactant-free and surfactant-stabilized emulsions. After 72 h of continuous separation, the membrane achieved 92.28 % separation efficiency and 290.55 L·m 2 ·h 1 flux for surfactant-free emulsions, and 85.11 % efficiency and 115.33 L·m 2 ·h 1 flux for surfactant-stabilized emulsions. This study highlights the potential of the membrane for industrial oil–water separation applications, with opportunities for further improvements through enhanced system design and composition optimization.