On the use of ultrafiltration membranes in oily water separators

Synthetic membranes are ideally suited to address the requirements of clean, sustainable processes. Ultrafiltration (UF) membranes are nanoporous materials produced from ceramic, polymeric or metallic substrates. The size of their nanopores affects the ability of the membrane to retain macromolecules, colloids, sub-micron particles and oil emulsions. This paper reports the results of some laboratory studies on the use of UF membranes for oily water purification from ships bilges. Upper and lower bounds on membrane pore size were found to exist for the best operation of the membrane process. The results obtained during this work indicate that UF is a viable separation process for the treatment of bilge water for compliance with overboard discharge regulations.