Development of superhydrophilic and superoleophobic surface on metal free graphite like g-C3N4 2D nanosheets for efficient oil/water separation

Geographically Sultanate of Oman and Qatar are enriched with oil and natural gas resources. Oman and Qatar?s energy sector is vast, complex and well developed; encompassing a diverse array of the country?s energy companies, along with strong private sector participation in nearly all major energy projects. Both Oman and Qatar are dependent on their oil and natural gas export revenue to support their economies. Oil/water separation is a topic of interest worldwide because of increasing release of industrial oily wastewater and frequent leakage of crude oil. Due to the increase in industrial oily wastewater volume and frequency of accidental oil spills, the development of effective and inexpensive methods for oil/water separation has become an important issue environmentally and economically. Although several oil/water separation methods such as adhesion, membrane filtration, and absorbance, have been developed and are widely used, achieving an energy and cost-effective oil/water separator with high separation efficiency remains challenging. Moreover, oil or organic solvents spill on land can pollute a wide range of fresh water, aggravating the freshwater crisis. Since Oman and Qatar oil industries are facing lots of problems associated with separation of oil and water, in the present project proposal SQU and QU group jointly decided to develop eco-friendly and efficient method for the separation of oil and water using nanotechnology. The proposed project will address the following key areas: (i) development of hybrid and bare 2D graphite like carbon nitride (g-C3N4) materials from various precursors. (ii) fixing of 2D g-C3N4 materials on the copper, stainless steel and other mesh with different pore size. (iii) modification of g-C3N4 surface with super hydrophilic and superoleophobic groups (iv) Characterization of the prepared materials by different advanced analytical techniques (XRD, BET, XPS, SEM, EDX and HR-TEM) (v) application of prepared materials for the separation of oil and water with real and synthetic oil and water mixers. The separation phenomena will be studied as a function of the type of oil, mixing duration, mixing speed and addition of coloring agents. Through this proposal, the development of advanced methods for oil and water separation will become an emerging technology and useful for both industrial and research community. The rheology, surface/interfacial tension and density of the oil water mixtures will be examined to better understand the influence of physical properties on oil-water mixing and separation phenomena. The project will develop scientific and research skills and expertise in the Oman and Qatar.