Preparing ceramic membranes for oil-in-water emulsions separation with oil-based drilling cutting pyrolysis residues (ODPRs) as raw material

Oil-based drilling cutting pyrolysis residues (ODPRs) are one of the solid wastes from pyrolysis of the oil-based drilling cuttings (OBDCs) that need to be recycled as raw materials to avoid the possible pollution. In this study, a facile low-cost ceramic membrane for oil-in-water emulsions separation was prepared with ODPRs incorporating with fly ash as raw material. CaCO3 in ODPRs would decompose acting as pore-forming agent, and anorthite was formed in resultant membranes. The obtained membrane with 30 wt% ODPRs and 70 wt% fly ash fired at 1050 degrees C possessed apparent porosity of 38.2%, mean pore size of 0.4 mu m, flexural strength of 13.1 MPa, and Darcy permeability of 1.06 x 10-13 m2. Consequently, commendable filtration performance for oil-in-water emulsions was presented. In addition, the ceramic membrane showed favorable recyclability and corrosion resistance. Leaching test indicated that the membrane is safe for oil-in-water emulsion separation. Hereby, this paper confirmed the availability of ODPRs for preparing ceramic filtration membranes, and provided a new environmental conservation way to treat oil-in-water emulsions that was consistent with the sustainable development goals.