Next-generation membrane technologies for oily wastewater treatment: A comprehensive review of materials, architectures, and hybrid processes (2020–2025)

초록

The treatment of over 3 billion tons/year of industrial oily wastewater, particularly persistent surfactant-stabilized emulsions, overwhelms conventional methods due to severe membrane fouling. This persistent challenge necessitates the development of advanced, fouling-resistant membrane technologies. This review comprehensively analyzes advances from 2020 to 2025, critically evaluating breakthroughs in 2D nanomaterials, asymmetric architectures, and hybrid systems. The analysis reveals that MXene and graphene oxide laminates achieve >99.99 % oil rejection via tunable nanochannels (0.35–1.2 nm) and electrostatic repulsion. Janus architectures with asymmetric wettability are shown to reduce irreversible fouling by 40–45 %, while self-cleaning systems—such as electroconductive MXene-polyaniline (at 1.0 V) and photocatalytic g-C₃N₄/TiO₂—degrade 97 % of adsorbed oils and enable >92 % flux recovery. Furthermore, hybrid processes like electro-assisted separation and membrane distillation reduce energy consumption by 60 % and scaling by 80 %. However, material instability, fabrication complexity, and a 40–60 % lower flux recovery in real wastewater impede scalability. Therefore, future research must prioritize fouling-resistant material engineering, standardized pilot testing, and life-cycle assessments to translate these laboratory innovations into industrially viable solutions for sustainable water reclamation. © 2025 Elsevier Ltd.

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