Separating a multicomponent and multiphase liquid mixture with a 3D-printed membrane device

The separation of multicomponent and multiphase liquid mixtures is critical in many important applications, e.g., wastewater treatment. While conventional technologies have been utilized in the separation, it usually takes many steps, resulting in high cost and energy consumption. Here we have demonstrated that, using a 3D-printed membrane device with multiple selectivity, a multicomponent and multiphase liquid mixture can be separated in a much more efficient way. The water–benzene–heptane mixture has been successfully separated with a 3D-printed “box”, which has a supported ionic liquid membrane (SILM) on the side wall and a hydrogel-coated hydrophilic/oleophobic membrane on the bottom. The water and oil (i.e., benzene/heptane) are separated by the hydrogel-coated hydrophilic/oleophobic membrane. Then the benzene is separated from heptane with the SILM. To further increase the separation throughput, the structure of the 3D-printed “box” has been optimized to increase the total surface area of SILM. Our results suggest that 3D-printed membrane device with multiple selectivity is promising in the separation of multicomponent and multiphase liquid mixtures.