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The major objective of this research is a systematic experimental exploration of hydrophilic materials that can be applied as coating materials for conventional ultrafiltration (UF) membranes to improve their fouling resistance against organic components. This objective is achieved by developing new, fouling-reducing membrane coatings and applying these coatings to conventional UF membranes, which can provide unprecedented reduction in membrane fouling and marked improvements in membrane lifetime. Novel polymeric materials are synthesized via free-radical photopolymerization of mixtures containing poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA), photoinitiator, and water. PEGDA chain length (n=10-45, where n is the average number of ethylene oxide units in the PEGDA molecule) and water content in the prepolymerization mixture (0-80 wt.%) were varied. Crosslinked PEGDA (XLPEGDA) exhibited high water permeability and good fouling resistance to oil/water mixtures. Water permeability increased strongly with increasing the water content in the prepolymerization mixture. Specifically, for XLPEGDA prepared with PEGDA (n=13), water permeability increased from 0.6 to 150 L um/(m2 h bar) as prepolymerization water content increased from 0 to 80 wt.%. Water permeability also increased with increasing PEGDA chain length. Moreover, water permeability exhibits a strong correlation with equilibrium water uptake. However, solute rejection, probed using poly(ethylene glycol)s of well defined molar mass, decreased with increasing prepolymerization water content and increasing PEGDA chain length. That is, there is a tradeoff between water permeability and separation properties: Materials with high water permeability typically exhibit low solute rejections, and vice versa. The fouling resistance of XLPEGDA materials was characterized via contact angle measurements and static protein adhesion experiments. From these results, XLPEGDA surfaces are more hydrophilic in samples prepared at higher prepolymerization water content or with longer PEGDA chains, and the more hydrophilic surfaces generally exhibit less BSA accumulation. These materials were applied to polysulfone (PSF) UF membranes to form coatings on the surface of the PSF membranes. Oil/water crossflow filtration experiments showed that the coated PSF membranes had water flux values 400% higher than that of an uncoated PSF membrane after 24 h of operation, and the coated membranes had higher organic rejection than the uncoated membranes. / text

Produced water is one of the major by products of oil and gas exploitation which is produced in large amounts up to 80% of the waste stream. Oil and grease concentration in produced water is the key parameter that is used for compliance monitoring, because it is easy to measure. For Canadian offshore operations, the current standard is a 30-day volume weighted average oil-in-water concentration in discharged produced water not exceeding 30 mg/L. Treatment of produced water may therefore be required in order to meet pre-disposal regulatory limits. The measurement of oil in produced water is important for both process control and reporting to regulatory authorities. Without the specification of a method, reported concentrations of oil in produced water can mean little, as there are many techniques and methods available for making this measurement, but not all are suitable in a specific application. The first part of this study focused on selecting a suitable analytical method for oil and grease measurement in oil field produced water. Petroleum ether was found to offer a comparative dissolution of crude oil as dichloromethane and hexane; it was therefore used as the solvent of choice for the UV-Vis spectrophotometric analysis of oil and grease in synthetic produced water. Results from the UV-Vis spectrophotometric and FTIR spectrometric analytical methods were found to be comparable; it confirmed that UV-Vis spectrometry could potentially serve as an alternative method for measuring oil and grease in oil field produced water. However, while the UV-Vis method may have limitations in measuring oil and grease concentrations below 30 mg/L, the FT-IR method was found to be equally efficient at measuring both high and low oil and grease concentrations. Dissolved air flotation (DAF) was the primary treatment technology investigated in this study for removing oil and grease from synthetic produced water. By itself, DAF achieved less than 70% oil and grease (OG) removal, and was not able to achieve a clarified effluent OG concentration of 30 mg/L required for regulatory discharge limits. At an optimum condition of 20 mg/L ferric chloride (FeCl3) at pH 8 (70.6% OG removal), coagulation was found to significantly improve the performance of the DAF unit (p < 0.05). At the optimum conditions of 100 mg/L PAC dose, pH 8 and a mixing time of 10 minutes (77.5% OG removal) and 300 mg/L OC dose, pH 8 and a mixing time of 10 minutes (78.1% OG removal), adsorption was also found to significantly improve the performance of the DAF unit (p < 0.05 in both cases). Adsorption with organoclay was recommended as the best pre-treatment for optimizing the performance of DAF in removing oil and grease from offshore oil field produced water. The bench-scale experiments showed that turbidity removal results were consistent with the OG removal results. Without pre-treatment, DAF achieved significant removal of benzene from produced water due to the volatile nature of benzene. Therefore comparable levels of benzene removal was observed by the DAF, FeCl3/DAF, PAC/DAF and OC/DAF treatment schemes; 79.3 %, 86.6 %, 86.5 %, 83.5% respectively. Finally, as benzene is known to be carcinogenic to humans, this study recommends the incorporation auxiliary equipment in its design, for the treatment of the off-gas (VOCs, particularly BTEX) released during the removal of dissolved oil from the oil field produced water.

The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency for treatment of an oil-water emulsion from the machinery industry using Fenton's reagent was investigated. The optimal [H 2 O 2 ]/[Fe 2+ ] molar ratio for COD removal was 3. An orthogonal test was designed based on the optimal molar [H 2 O 2 ]/[Fe 2+ ] ratio to evaluate the significance of four parameters relevant to the treatment process, namely, H 2 O 2 dosage, initial pH, oxidation time and coagulation pH. The influence of the following parameters on COD removal efficiency decreases as follows: H 2 O 2 dosage > oxidation time > coagulation pH > initial pH. The COD removal efficiency was investigated based on the most important single-factor parameter which was H 2 O 2 dosage, as discovered in the orthogonal test. A well-fitted empirical correlation was obtained in the single-factor analysis and up to 98% COD removal was attained using 50 mM H 2 O 2 . With the increase of H 2 O 2 dosage up to 50 mM, the COD removal efficiency increased rapidly due to a higher generation of hydroxyl radicals. However, this effect becomes less significant as the dosage of H 2 O 2 increases. This effect might be attributed to the consumption of hydroxyl radicals with excess H 2 O 2 . The coagulation function of Fenton's reagent was confirmed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Using the doses and conditions identified in this study, the treated oil-water emulsion can be discharged according to Chinese Standard JS-7740-95.

Submitted by Johnny Rodrigues (johnnyrodrigues@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-03-23T22:18:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 LUANA ARAÚJO DE OLIVEIRA - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGEQ 2016..pdf: 2150320 bytes, checksum: ff1e004447bdf3876ca804146d360cca (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-23T22:18:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 LUANA ARAÚJO DE OLIVEIRA - DISSERTAÇÃO PPGEQ 2016..pdf: 2150320 bytes, checksum: ff1e004447bdf3876ca804146d360cca (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-09-27 / Capes / Este trabalho teve o objetivo de produzir membranas poliméricas (polietileno de ultra alto peso molecular – PEUAPM) e membranas híbridas (PEUAPM/argila verde dura organofílica) e avaliar, em escala de laboratório, o comportamento e o desempenho destas na remoção de emulsão óleo/água, utilizando uma coluna de separação por membranas. Os ensaios foram realizados nas condições de concentração inicial do óleo 100 mgL-1, temperatura igual a 25ºC, pressão atmosférica. As membranas poliméricas foram produzidas utilizando o método incipiente de pós, de acordo com o planejamento experimental que teve como variáveis de entrada a percentagem de massa de argila verde dura organofílica e o tempo de sinterização no forno elétrico, e como resposta a remoção de emulsão óleo/água. A argila verde dura foi organofilizada com o sal quaternário de amônio Genamim. As argilas verde dura: natural e organofílica foram caraterizadas pelas técnicas de Difração de raios X (DRX), Espectroscopia de florescência de raios X por energia dispersiva (FRX-ED), Adsorção física de N2, Capacidade de Troca de Cátions (CTC), Capacidade de adsorção e de Inchamento de Foster, Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (MEV), Análise Térmica Diferencial (ATD) e Termogravimétrica (TG). O polímero PEUAPM foi caracterizado pelas técnicas DRX e TG. As membranas produzidas (poliméricas e híbridas) foram caracterizadas pelas técnicas de DRX e Microscopia ótica (MO). Os resultados da análise de DRX mostraram que a argila verde dura natural apresenta reflexões características do grupo da esmectita. Após a organofilização, foi observado pelo difratograma que houve o deslocamento de picos e um aumento expressivo do espaçamento basal (d001) confirmando a efetiva intercalação do cátion quaternário de amônio (Genamin®) nas camadas interlamelares da argila verde dura. Os resultados obtidos por FRX-ED, adsorção física de nitrogênio e capacidade de troca catiônica demonstraram que a argila verde dura é tipicamente uma argila esmectítica. As membranas poliméricas e híbridas foram caracterizadas por DRX, em que apresentou os picos característicos de polietileno, e por MO, onde apresentou a distribuição dos grãos. A partir dos testes de separação da emulsão óleo/água, pode-se concluir que a inserção da argila verde dura organofílica ao polímero PEUAPM não melhorou o processo de separação da emulsão óleo/água. Dentre as membranas estudadas, polimérica e híbrida, os desempenhos foram semelhantes na separação da emulsão. / This work aimed to produce polymeric membranes and hybrid membranes (hard green organoclay/UHMWPE) and evaluate, on a laboratory scale, the behavior and performance of the membranes produced in removing oil / water emulsion using a separation column by membranes. Assays were performed in conditions of initial concentration of oil 100 mgL-1, temperature of 25°C atmospheric pressure. Polymeric membranes were produced using the incipient method of powders, according to the experimental design that had as input variables the percentage by mass of hard green organoclay and sintering time in the electric furnace, and in response to removing oil emulsion/water. The hard green clay was chemically with the quaternary ammonium salt Genamim. The hard green clays, natural and organoclay were characterized by diffraction techniques of X-ray (XRD) Spectroscopy blooming X-ray energy dispersive (FRX-ED), physical adsorption of N2, Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) adsorption capacity and Foster's swelling, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA) and Thermogravimetric (TG). The UHMWPE polymer was characterized by XRD and TG techniques. The produced membranes (polymeric and hybrid) were characterized by XRD techniques and optical microscopy (OM). The results of XRD analysis showed that the natural green hard clay has characteristics of reflections of the smectite group. After organophilization, it was observed by the XRD pattern which there was displacement peaks and a significant increase in basal spacing (d001) confirming the effective merging of the quaternary ammonium cation (Genamin®) interlayer in layers of hard green clay. The results obtained by ED-XRF, nitrogen adsorption and cation exchange capacity showed that hard green clay is typically a smectite clay. Polymeric and hybrid membranes were characterized by XRD, which showed the characteristic peaks of polyethylene, and MO, where he presented the distribution of the grain. From the tests separation of oil/water emulsion, it can be concluded that the insertion of hard green clay organophilic the UHMWPE polymer did not improve the process of separating oil/water emulsion. Among those studied, polymeric and hybrid membranes, the performances were similar in the separation of the emulsion.

Submitted by Lucienne Costa (lucienneferreira@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-04-10T16:47:26Z No. of bitstreams: 1 JOSEANE DAMASCENO MOTA - TESE (PPGEQ) 2017.pdf: 3916496 bytes, checksum: b5339c38dab725355adc81c735faac81 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-10T16:47:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JOSEANE DAMASCENO MOTA - TESE (PPGEQ) 2017.pdf: 3916496 bytes, checksum: b5339c38dab725355adc81c735faac81 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-10-05 / Capes / Neste trabalho foram produzidas membranas tubulares poliméricas (Polietileno de ultra alto peso molecular - PEUAPM) e compósitas (PEUAPM/argila Chocolate B organofílica e PEUAPM/zeólita Mordenita) por sinterização visando sua utilização e reutilização no processo de separação de emulsão óleo/água. O mesmo trata do efeito da incorporação de 1, 3 e 5% em massa de argila Chocolate B organofílica ou zeólita Mordenita e diferentes tempos de sinterização (60, 90 e 120 min) no desempenho de membranas a base de PEUAPM. O PEUAPM foi caracterizado por meio das técnicas de Difratometria de raios X (DRX), Análise Termogravimétrica (TG) e Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (MEV). A argila Chocolate B natural e organofílica foi caracterizada por meio das técnicas de DRX, Capacidade de troca catiônica (CTC) Espectroscopia de Infravermelho por Transformada de Fourrier (FTIR), Análise Termogravimétrica (TG), MEV e Espectroscopia de Fluorescência de raios X por Energia Dispersiva (FRX-ED), enquanto que a zeólita Mordenita foi caracterizada por DRX, FRX-ED e MEV. O DRX confirmou que o PEUAPM é um polímero semicristalino, assim como o MEV provou que este é composto basicamente por aglomerados de partículas com tamanhos diferentes. O TG evidenciou que as membranas poderão resistir a variações de temperaturas moderadas sem perder sua integridade estrutural. As técnicas de caracterização (DRX, FTIR, TG) evidenciaram a efetiva intercalação dos cátions quaternários de amônio nas camadas interlamelares da argila. A partir dos resultados obtidos para a síntese de zeólita mordenita confirmou que a sua obtenção foi efetiva com formação da zeólita mordenita em fase pura e cristalina. Foram realizados testes de resistência química, capacidade de absorção de água e porosidade, além de caracterização de DRX e MEV das membranas tubulares poliméricas e compósitas. Os resultados das membranas permitiram inferir que tanto a incorporação de argila Chocolate B quanto da zeólita Mordenita provocaram melhorias nas membranas compósitas, tendo em vista que pelo DRX houve a confirmação do processo de intercalação das cadeias poliméricas entre as camadas da argila Chocolate B organofílica. Quando comparado com os resultados das membranas poliméricas, percebeu-se que as membranas tubulares compósitas apresentaram melhor estabilidade e resistência química e física com testes de capacidade de absorção de água, resistência química e porosidade. Verificou-se que a incorporação da argila Chocolate B organofílica e da zeólita Mordenita ocasionaram o aumento dos fluxos como também um acréscimo no percentual de rejeição (até 90,67%) das membranas quando comparadas com as membranas tubulares poliméricas. O processo de limpeza das membranas reutilizadas provou-se eficiente, com obtenção de mais de 99% de seu fluxo recuperado, assim como mais de 95% de seu potencial de rejeição restaurado. Dessa maneira, as membranas compósitas configuram-se como materiais promissores no tratamento de efluentes oleosos. / In this work, polymeric tubular membranes (PEUAPM) and composites (PEUAPM/ organophilic Chocolate B and PEUAPM/zeolite Mordenite) were produced by sintering for their use and reuse in the oil/water emulsion separation process. The same deals with the effect of the incorporation of 1, 3 and 5% by mass of organophilic Chocolate B clay or Mordenite zeolite and different sintering times (60, 90 and 120 min) in the performance of PEUAPM based membranes. The PEUAPM was characterized by the techniques of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TG) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The natural and organophilic Chocolate B clay was characterized by the techniques of XRD, Cation Exchange (CTC), Infrared Spectroscopy by Fourrier Transform (FTIR), Thermogravimetric (TG), SEM and X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy by Energy Dispersive (FRX-ED), while the Mordenite zeolite was characterized by DRX, FRX-ED and MEV. The XRD confirmed that PEUAPM is a semi-crystalline polymer, as well as SEM has proved that it is basically composed of particle agglomerates of different sizes. TG evidenced that membranes will be able to withstand moderate temperature variations without losing their structural integrity. Characterization techniques (XRD, FTIR, TG) evidenced the effective intercalation of the quaternary ammonium cations in the interlamellar layers of the clay. From the results obtained for the synthesis of mordenite zeolite confirmed that its obtaining was effective with formation of pure and crystalline phase mordenite zeolite. Tests of chemical resistance, water absorption capacity and porosity were performed, as well as characterization of XRD and MEV of polymeric and composite tubular membranes. The results of the membranes allowed to infer that both the incorporation of Chocolate B clay and the Mordenite zeolite caused improvements in the composite membranes, considering that by the XRD there was confirmation of the intercalation process of the polymer chains between the layers of the organophilic Chocolate B clay. When compared to the results of the polymer membranes, it was observed that the composite tubular membranes presented better stability and chemical and physical resistance with tests of water absorption capacity, chemical resistance and porosity. The incorporation of the organophilic Chocolate B clay and the Mordenite zeolite resulted in an increase in the fluxes as well as an increase in the rejection percentage (up to 90.67%) of the membranes when compared to the polymeric tubular membranes. The process of cleaning the reused membranes has proved to be efficient, obtaining more than 99% of its recovered flux, as well as more than 95% of its restored rejection potential. In this way, the composite membranes are configured as promising materials in the treatment of oily effluents.

Submitted by Maria Medeiros (maria.dilva1@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-08-16T11:47:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 FABIANA MEDEIROS DO NASCIMENTO SILVA - TESE (PPGEQ) 2017.pdf: 6622967 bytes, checksum: bfed827814b744a5e9e9e565d28f0682 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T11:47:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FABIANA MEDEIROS DO NASCIMENTO SILVA - TESE (PPGEQ) 2017.pdf: 6622967 bytes, checksum: bfed827814b744a5e9e9e565d28f0682 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017 / Capes / O presente trabalho tem como objetivo geral sintetizar as membranas zeolíticas (Mordenita/α-alumina), utilizando os métodos de síntese hidrotérmica, crescimento secundário: dip-coating e transporte em fase vapor, para serem avaliadas no processo de separação emulsão óleo/água. Dentro deste contexto foram avaliados alguns parâmetros, destacando-se, a influência do tempo de cristalização na síntese da zeólita mordenita, a influência do precursor (sulfato de alumínio e gibsita) na síntese da membrana zeolítica, influência dos métodos de síntese das membranas zeolíticas e os testes de permeação de água e o processo de separação emulsão óleo/água. A síntese da zeólita mordenita foi realizada utilizando o método hidrotérmico a 170°C, com tempos de cristalização de 24, 36, 48, 72, 96 e 120 horas, a fim de avaliar a cristalinidade da zeólita, e selecionar o melhor tempo para a síntese das membranas zeolíticas. Os suportes cerâmicos α-alumina foram preparados a partir da decomposição dos precursores sulfato de alumínio a 1000°C e gibsita a 1200ºC por 2 horas, e conformados, compactados e sinterizados a 1300ºC por 2h, e então submetidos às técnicas de caracterização: Difratometria de raios X (DRX), Adsorção Física de Nitrogênio, Microscopia Eletrônica de Varredura (MEV), Espectroscopia de Fluorescência de raios X por Energia Dispersiva (FRX-ED) e Termogravimétrica/Térmica Diferencial (TG/DTA). As membranas zeolíticas foram sintetizadas pelos métodos de síntese hidrotérmica, crescimento secundário: dip-coating e transporte em fase vapor a 170°C por 72h e caracterizadas por DRX e MEV. Os suportes cerâmicos e as membranas zeolíticas foram avaliadas em testes de permeação de água e no sistema de separação emulsão óleo/água de um efluente sintético, utilizando um processo de separação por membrana (PSM). Os ensaios foram realizados nas condições de concentração inicial da emulsão 100 mg.L-1, temperatura de 25 °C e pressão de 2,5 bar, permitindo avaliar a permeabilidade e a seletividade a partir da variação da concentração do permeado em (mg.L-1) e da percentagem de rejeição ao óleo (%R). A partir dos resultados obtidos para a síntese dos materiais, pode-se observar a efetiva formação da zeólita mordenita em fase pura e cristalina. Os precursores foram decompostos de maneira satisfatória obtendo a fase α-alumina. A manutenção da fase α-alumina pós-produção dos suportes cerâmicos foi confirmada após caracterização. De acordo com os resultados exibidos pelas análises de DRX e MEV as membranas zeolíticas MZMOR/α-alumina apresentaram uma distribuição homogênea e uniforme dos cristais zeolíticos correspondentes à fase mordenita, sem a presença de impurezas, livres de defeitos e sem fissuras, confirmando a formação da estrutura da membrana zeolítica pelos três métodos de síntese, utilizados neste trabalho. A zeólita mordenita se mostrou excelente em relação à adesão e formação da camada zeolítica sobre o suporte cerâmico α-alumina. A partir da avaliação da permeabilidade e seletividade nos testes de separação da emulsão óleo/água, pode-se concluir que a inserção da zeólita mordenita aos suportes cerâmicos melhorou o processo de separação da emulsão óleo/água. Em termos de eficiência no processo de separação, considera-se que a membrana zeolítica MZMOR/α – Al2O3 (SHGB) foi a que apresentou melhor relação entre fluxo e capacidade seletiva, mostrando a eficácia da utilização das membranas zeolíticas. Todas as membranas zeolíticas sintetizadas e avaliadas mostraram-se promissoras. / The objective of the present work is to synthesize zeolite membranes (Mordenite/α-alumina) using hydrothermal synthesis, secondary growth: dip-coating and vapor-phase transport, to be evaluated in the oil/water emulsion separation process. The influence of the crystallization time on the synthesis of the mordenite zeolite, the influence of the precursor (aluminum sulphate and gibsite) on the synthesis of the zeolite membrane, influence of the synthesis methods of the zeolite membranes and the water permeation tests and the oil/water emulsion separation process. The synthesis of the mordenite zeolite was performed using the hydrothermal method at 170°C, with crystallization times of 24, 36, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours, in order to evaluate the crystallinity of the zeolite, and to select the best time for the synthesis of zeolite membranes. The α-alumina ceramic supports were prepared from the decomposition of the aluminum sulfate precursors at 1000°C and gibsite at 1200°C for 2 hours, and conformed, compacted and sintered at 1300°C for 2h, and then submitted to the characterization techniques: (XRD), Nitrogen Physical Adsorption, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (FRX-ED) and Thermogravimetric/Differential Thermal (TG/DTA). The zeolite membranes were synthesized by hydrothermal synthesis, secondary growth: dip-coating and vapor-phase transport at 170°C for 72 hours and characterized by XRD and SEM. Ceramic supports and zeolite membranes were evaluated in water permeation tests and in the oil/water emulsion separation system of a synthetic effluent using a membrane separation process. The tests were carried out under the conditions of initial concentration of the emulsion 100 mg.L-1, temperature of 25°C and pressure of 2,5 bar, allowing to evaluate the permeability and the selectivity from the variation of the permeate concentration in (mg. L-1) and the percentage of oil rejection (% R). From the results obtained for the synthesis of the materials, it is possible to observe the effective formation of zeolite mordenite in pure and crystalline phase. The precursors were satisfactorily decomposed to give the α-alumina phase. The maintenance of the post-production α-alumina phase of the ceramic supports was confirmed after characterization. The MZMOR/α-alumina zeolite membranes presented a homogeneous and uniform distribution of the zeolite crystals corresponding to the mordenite phase, without the presence of impurities, free of defects and without cracks, confirming the formation of the structure of the zeolite membrane by the three methods of synthesis, used in this work. The mordenite zeolite showed excellent adhesion and formation of the zeolitic layer on the ceramic support α-alumina. From the evaluation of the permeability and selectivity in the oil/water emulsion separation tests, it can be concluded that the insertion of the mordenite zeolite to the ceramic supports improved the separation process of the oil/water emulsion. In terms of efficiency in the separation process, the zeolite membrane MZMOR/α-Al2O3(SHGB) was considered to have the best relationship between flow and selectivity, showing the efficacy of zeolite membranes. All zeolite membranes synthesized and evaluated were promising.