Physical-chemical property and filtration mechanism of the porous polyvinyl chloride composite membrane as filter for waste water treatment

A porous polyvinyl chloride composite membrane with good filter effect for cooling water in continuous casting was designed and prepared. Physical-chemistry properties of the porous polyvinyl chloride composite materials, including surface microstructure, wettability (for water and oil) and permeability coefficient, were investigated. Filtration effect of the porous polyvinyl chloride composite tube filter was enhanced compared with the traditional filter due to the adjustment of wettability and permeability for water and oil. It was found that particle size and pore size distribution for exine and intine of the composite tube are almost the same. Particle size is about 50–120 μm while pore diameter is about 20–60 μm. Water droplets exhibit good wettability on the porous composite materials, while the oil droplets are not wetted. Due to the oleophilic/hydrophobic characteristics passage of water and adsorption of oil droplets, the porous PVC composite filter tube possesses good filter effect. As a result, water quality is remarkably improved after filtration by using the new filter.