MOF-based membranes for oil/water separation: Status, challenges, and prospects

Oily wastewater has adverse impacts on the ecosystem, human health, and marine life. Scientists tried to resolve this issue by exploring and proposing different innovative separation methods. However, most of those methods have technical problems like high energy consumption and lower separation efficiency. Metal-organic framework (MOF)-based membranes have attracted considerable attention to be employed in the separation of the oil/water (O/W) emulsions, due to their exceptional features such as high porosity, wettability, and high surface area. This review aimed to assess the recent advances and potential of MOF-based membranes in O/W separation. Several key aspects such as different preparation methods, physiochemical characteristics, and the mechanism of O/W separation by the MOF-based membranes are critically evaluated. The regeneration and stability of the employed membranes are also explored. Furthermore, numerous challenges and intended research gaps are identified and future recommendations are also provided.