A novel ceramic microfiltration membrane fabricated by anthurium andraeanum-like attapulgite nanofibers for high-efficiency oil-in-water emulsions separation

Anthurium andraeanum-like Fe₃O₄-attapulgite (FATP) fibers were prepared by anchoring nano-Fe₃O₄ particles on the surface of attapugite (ATP) via chemical coprecipitation. Then a novel ceramic microfiltration membrane with superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic performance was fabricated based on the FATP fibers. Ascribed to the hydrophilic performance of Fe₃O₄ and micro-nano structure of FATP fibers, the underwater oil contact angles of the FATP membrance for various types of oils are larger than 158° and the membrane also possesses rather low adhesion force with oil droplets. After 3 cycles of oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion separation, the steady flux of FATP membrane is 209 L m⁻² h⁻¹, 44% higher than that of ATP membrane. Moreover, the FATP membrane is stable and easy to clean, its oil rejection maintains at 98.7% and flux can recover by 86.5% using hot water as cleaning agent. The as-developed anthurium andraeanum-like structure in membrane surface provides promising guidance to improve the O/W purification performance of membrane.