{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,21]],"date-time":"2026-02-21T02:25:58Z","timestamp":1771640758236,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":64,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,2,20]],"date-time":"2020-02-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1582156800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The oil and gas industry generates a large volume of contaminated water (produced water) which must be processed to recover oil before discharge. Here, we evaluated the performance and fouling behavior of commercial ceramic silicon carbide membranes in the treatment of oily wastewaters. In this context, microfiltration and ultrafiltration ceramic membranes were used for the separation of oil during the treatment of tank dewatering produced water and oily model solutions, respectively. We also tested a new online oil-in-water sensor (OMD-32) based on the principle of light scattering for the continuous measurement of oil concentrations in order to optimize the main filtration process parameters that determine membrane performance: the transmembrane pressure and cross-flow velocity. Using the OMD-32 sensor, the oil content of the feed, concentrate and permeate streams was measured continuously and fell within the range 0.0\u2013200 parts per million (ppm) with a resolution of 1.0 ppm. The ceramic membranes achieved an oil-recovery efficiency of up to 98% with less than 1.0 ppm residual oil in the permeate stream, meeting environmental regulations for discharge in most areas.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s20041161","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,2,21]],"date-time":"2020-02-21T10:49:16Z","timestamp":1582282156000},"page":"1161","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Innovative Optical-Sensing Technology for the Online Fouling Characterization of Silicon Carbide Membranes during the Treatment of Oily Water"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Mehrdad","family":"Ebrahimi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Bioprocess Engineering and Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Applied Sciences Mittelhessen, 35390 Giessen, Germany"}]},{"given":"Axel A.","family":"Schmidt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department R&amp;D, DECKMA Hamburg GmbH, 22525 Hamburg, Germany"}]},{"given":"Cagatay","family":"Kaplan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Bioprocess Engineering and Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Applied Sciences Mittelhessen, 35390 Giessen, Germany"}]},{"given":"Oliver","family":"Schmitz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Bioprocess Engineering and Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Applied Sciences Mittelhessen, 35390 Giessen, Germany"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7485-500X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Peter","family":"Czermak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Bioprocess Engineering and Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Applied Sciences Mittelhessen, 35390 Giessen, Germany"},{"name":"Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, Justus-Liebig University of Giessen, 35390 Giessen, Germany"},{"name":"Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME), Project Group Bioresources, 35392 Giessen, Germany"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,2,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wan Ikhsan, S.N. (2017). A review of oilfield wastewater treatment using membrane filtration over conventional technology. MJAS, 21.","DOI":"10.17576\/mjas-2017-2103-14"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"530","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhazmat.2009.05.044","article-title":"Review of technologies for oil and gas produced water treatment","volume":"170","author":"Pendashteh","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Hazard. Mater."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"222","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jwpe.2019.02.001","article-title":"Produced water characteristics, treatment and reuse: A review","volume":"28","author":"Ashfaq","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Water Process Eng."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1016\/j.marpolbul.2016.01.004","article-title":"Offshore produced water management: A review of current practice and challenges in harsh\/Arctic environments","volume":"104","author":"Zheng","year":"2016","journal-title":"Mar. Pollut. Bull."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"8005","DOI":"10.1051\/matecconf\/201815608005","article-title":"Oilfield Produced Water Reuse and Reinjection with Membrane","volume":"156","author":"Siagian","year":"2018","journal-title":"MATEC Web Conf."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Coca-Prados, J., and Guti\u00e9rrez-Cervell\u00f3, G. (2011). Water Purification and Management, Springer Science+Business Media B.V.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-90-481-9775-0"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"197","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2014.11.023","article-title":"Membrane technology enhancement in oil\u2013water separation. A review","volume":"357","author":"Padaki","year":"2015","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kurisu, F., Ramanathan, A., Kazmi, A.A., and Kumar, M. (2017). Trends in Asian Water Environmental Science and Technology, Capital Publishing Company.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-319-39259-2"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"347","DOI":"10.1016\/j.watres.2019.03.021","article-title":"Membrane-based separation for oily wastewater: A practical perspective","volume":"156","author":"Tanudjaja","year":"2019","journal-title":"Water Res."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Elshorbagy, W., and Chowdhury, R. (2013). Water Treatment, InTech.","DOI":"10.5772\/2883"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"186","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chemosphere.2017.10.139","article-title":"State of the art of produced water treatment","volume":"192","author":"Arnaldos","year":"2018","journal-title":"Chemosphere"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"157","DOI":"10.1093\/ijlct\/cts049","article-title":"Produced water treatment technologies","volume":"9","author":"Igunnu","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int. J. Low-Carbon Tech."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jepsen, K., Bram, M., Pedersen, S., and Yang, Z. (2018). Membrane Fouling for Produced Water Treatment: A Review Study From a Process Control Perspective. Water, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/w10070847"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Clark, C.E., and Veil, J.A. (2020, February 19). Produced Water Volumes and Management Practices in the United States. Available online: https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2172\/1007397.","DOI":"10.2172\/1007397"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gebreslase, G.A. (2018). Review on Membranes for the Filtration of Aqueous Based Solution: Oil in Water Emulsion. J. Membr. Sci. Technol., 8.","DOI":"10.4172\/2155-9589.1000188"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2619","DOI":"10.1002\/pat.4376","article-title":"Fabrication, characterization, and performance evaluation of polyethersulfone\/TiO2 nanocomposite ultrafiltration membranes for produced water treatment","volume":"29","author":"Hosseini","year":"2018","journal-title":"Polym. Adv. Technol."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"239","DOI":"10.1016\/j.memsci.2017.05.038","article-title":"Fabrication of silicon carbide membranes on highly permeable supports","volume":"537","author":"Dabir","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Membr. Sci."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"22003","DOI":"10.1063\/1.5085140","article-title":"A theoretical study of permeability enhancement for ultrafiltration ceramic membranes with conical pores and slippage","volume":"31","author":"Wang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Phys. Fluids"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4032","DOI":"10.1051\/e3sconf\/20185304032","article-title":"Application of Ceramic Membrane in Water and Wastewater Treatment","volume":"53","author":"Lin","year":"2018","journal-title":"E3S Web Conf."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gitis, V., and Rothenberg, G. (2016). Ceramic Membranes. New Opportunities and Practical Applications, Wiley-VCH.","DOI":"10.1002\/9783527696550"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"He, Z., Lyu, Z., Gu, Q., Zhang, L., and Wang, J. (2019). Ceramic-based Membranes for Water and Wastewater Treatment. Colloids Surf. A.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.colsurfa.2019.05.074"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ebrahimi, M., Busse, N., Kerker, S., Schmitz, O., Hilpert, M., and Czermak, P. (2015). Treatment of the Bleaching Effluent from Sulfite Pulp Production by Ceramic Membrane Filtration. Membranes, 6.","DOI":"10.3390\/membranes6010007"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"349","DOI":"10.1080\/01496395.2017.1386217","article-title":"Evaluation of the fouling potential of ceramic membrane configurations designed for the treatment of oilfield produced water","volume":"53","author":"Ebrahimi","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sep. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_24","first-page":"88","article-title":"Performance and Selectivity of Ceramic Membranes in the Ultrafiltration of Model Emulsion in Saline","volume":"25","year":"2017","journal-title":"Manage. Syst. Prod. Eng."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Magalh\u00e3es, H.L.F., de Lima, A.G.B., de Farias Neto, S.R., Alves, H.G., and de Souza, J.S. (2017). Produced water treatment by ceramic membrane: A numerical investigation by computational fluid dynamics. Adv. Mech. Eng., 9.","DOI":"10.1177\/1687814016688642"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"214","DOI":"10.1016\/j.seppur.2016.04.001","article-title":"Ceramic membrane filtration of produced water: Impact of membrane module","volume":"165","author":"Zsirai","year":"2016","journal-title":"Sep. Purif. Technol."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Fraga, M.C., Sanches, S., Crespo, J.G., and Pereira, V.J. (2017). Assessment of a New Silicon Carbide Tubular Honeycomb Membrane for Treatment of Olive Mill Wastewaters. Membranes, 7.","DOI":"10.3390\/membranes7010012"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"480","DOI":"10.1016\/j.memsci.2014.10.045","article-title":"Highly permeable and mechanically robust silicon carbide hollow fiber membranes","volume":"475","author":"Kappert","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Membr. Sci."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"501","DOI":"10.1016\/S1383-5866(01)00080-6","article-title":"Influence of the surface charge on the permeate flux in the dead-end filtration with ceramic membranes","volume":"25","author":"Moritz","year":"2001","journal-title":"Sep. Purif. Technol."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"155","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2019.02.166","article-title":"Process stability and comparative rDNA\/rRNA community analyses in an anaerobic membrane bioreactor with silicon carbide ceramic membrane applications","volume":"666","author":"Cho","year":"2019","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"304","DOI":"10.1016\/j.talanta.2013.01.040","article-title":"Determination of oil-in-water using nanoemulsions as solvents and UV visible and total organic carbon detection methods","volume":"107","author":"Costa","year":"2013","journal-title":"Talanta"},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lee, K., and Neff, J. (2011). Produced Water. Environmental Risks and Advances in Mitigation Technologies, Springer Science+Business Media LLC.","DOI":"10.1007\/978-1-4614-0046-2"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"245","DOI":"10.1016\/S0003-2670(02)01471-X","article-title":"Rapid in situ determination of total oil concentration in water using ultraviolet fluorescence and light scattering coupled with artificial neural networks","volume":"478","author":"He","year":"2003","journal-title":"Anal. Chim. Acta"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"533","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2009.02.017","article-title":"Characterization and application of different ceramic membranes for the oil-field produced water treatment","volume":"245","author":"Ebrahimi","year":"2009","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1762","DOI":"10.1080\/19443994.2012.694197","article-title":"Dynamic cross-flow filtration of oilfield produced water by rotating ceramic filter discs","volume":"51","author":"Ebrahimi","year":"2013","journal-title":"Desalin. Water Treat."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3554","DOI":"10.1080\/19443994.2014.947780","article-title":"Innovative ceramic hollow fiber membranes for recycling\/reuse of oilfield produced water","volume":"55","author":"Ebrahimi","year":"2014","journal-title":"Desalin. Water Treat."},{"key":"ref_37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"991","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2009.09.088","article-title":"Investigations on the use of different ceramic membranes for efficient oil-field produced water treatment","volume":"250","author":"Ebrahimi","year":"2010","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_38","first-page":"1","article-title":"Using Dynamic Light Scattering for Monitoring the Size of the Suspended Particles in Wastewater","volume":"21","author":"Chicea","year":"2019","journal-title":"Transylvanian Rev. Systematical Ecol. Res."},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"187","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijpharm.2006.01.037","article-title":"Light scattering measurements on microemulsions: Estimation of droplet sizes","volume":"312","author":"Goddeeris","year":"2006","journal-title":"Int. J. Pharm."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1008","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.jpcb.5b09920","article-title":"Measuring Size, Size Distribution, and Polydispersity of Water-in-Oil Microemulsion Droplets using Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy: Comparison to Dynamic Light Scattering","volume":"120","author":"Khan","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Phys. Chem. B"},{"key":"ref_41","unstructured":"Bohren, C.F., and Huffman, D.R. (2008). Absorption and Scattering of Light by Small Particles, Wiley-VCH."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"377","DOI":"10.1002\/andp.19083300302","article-title":"Beitr\u00e4ge zur Optik tr\u00fcber Medien, speziell kolloidaler Metall\u00f6sungen","volume":"330","author":"Mie","year":"1908","journal-title":"Ann. Phys."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"871","DOI":"10.1364\/JOSAA.8.000871","article-title":"Light scattering by randomly oriented axially symmetric particles","volume":"8","author":"Mishchenko","year":"1991","journal-title":"J. Opt. Soc. Am. A"},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"683","DOI":"10.1016\/0022-4073(96)00011-8","article-title":"Electromagnetic scattering by randomly oriented bispheres: Comparison of theory and experiment and benchmark calculations","volume":"55","author":"Mishchenko","year":"1996","journal-title":"J. Quant. Spectrosc. Radiat. Transfer"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4927","DOI":"10.1364\/AO.35.004927","article-title":"Scattering of light by polydisperse, randomly oriented, finite circular cylinders","volume":"35","author":"Mishchenko","year":"1996","journal-title":"Appl. Opt."},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"732","DOI":"10.1080\/14686996.2018.1517587","article-title":"Characterisation of particles in solution - a perspective on light scattering and comparative technologies","volume":"19","author":"Maguire","year":"2018","journal-title":"Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Seebacher, G., Schmidt, A.A., and Offermann, J. (2013, January 24\u201325). Oil in Water Monitoring Using Advanced Light Scattering. Proceedings of the ASME\/USCG 2013 3rd Workshop on Marine Technology and Standards, Arlington, VA, USA.","DOI":"10.1115\/MTS2013-0301"},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"732","DOI":"10.1080\/10916466.2016.1161646","article-title":"Crude oil UV spectroscopy and light scattering characterization","volume":"34","author":"Zavala","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Pet. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"188","DOI":"10.1016\/j.memsci.2016.01.009","article-title":"On-line monitoring of cake layer structure during fouling on porous membranes by in situ electrical impedance analysis","volume":"503","author":"Bannwarth","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Membr. Sci."},{"key":"ref_50","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"223","DOI":"10.1016\/j.memsci.2018.01.051","article-title":"Modeling of cross flow hollow fiber ultrafiltration for treatment of effluent from Railway Workshop","volume":"551","author":"Kurada","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Membr. Sci."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1328","DOI":"10.1016\/j.proeng.2015.08.964","article-title":"A Behavioural Membrane Fouling Model for Integrated Simulation of Membrane Bioreactors for Wastewater Treatment","volume":"119","author":"Janus","year":"2015","journal-title":"Procedia Eng."},{"key":"ref_52","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"505","DOI":"10.1016\/j.memsci.2013.12.027","article-title":"Comparison of membrane fouling at constant flux and constant transmembrane pressure conditions","volume":"454","author":"Miller","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Membr. Sci."},{"key":"ref_53","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"668","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chemosphere.2019.03.188","article-title":"Chemical cleaning of ceramic ultrafiltration membranes\u2014Ozone versus conventional cleaning chemicals","volume":"226","author":"Alresheedi","year":"2019","journal-title":"Chemosphere"},{"key":"ref_54","first-page":"276","article-title":"Wood Chem","volume":"38","author":"Thuvander","year":"2018","journal-title":"Technol."},{"key":"ref_55","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1218","DOI":"10.1016\/j.watres.2012.11.043","article-title":"Correlations of relevant membrane foulants with UF membrane fouling in different waters","volume":"47","author":"Tian","year":"2013","journal-title":"Water Res."},{"key":"ref_56","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"21","DOI":"10.3311\/PPch.2166","article-title":"Treatment of model oily waste water by microfiltration","volume":"57","author":"Talpas","year":"2013","journal-title":"Per. Pol. Chem. Eng."},{"key":"ref_57","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Singh, R., and Hankins, N.P. (2016). Introduction to Membrane Processes for Water Treatment. Emerging Membrane Technology for Sustainable Water Treatment, Elsevier.","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-444-63312-5.00002-4"},{"key":"ref_58","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Simoni\u010d, M. (2019). Membrane surface properties and their effects on real waste oil-in-water emulsion ultrafiltration. WSA, 45.","DOI":"10.17159\/wsa\/2019.v45.i3.6733"},{"key":"ref_59","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"442","DOI":"10.1016\/j.memsci.2013.07.029","article-title":"Oil droplet behavior at a pore entrance in the presence of crossflow: Implications for microfiltration of oil\u2013water dispersions","volume":"447","author":"Darvishzadeh","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Membr. Sci."},{"key":"ref_60","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"222","DOI":"10.1016\/j.desal.2010.07.055","article-title":"Ceramic membrane performance in microfiltration of oily wastewater","volume":"265","author":"Abadi","year":"2011","journal-title":"Desalination"},{"key":"ref_61","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"901","DOI":"10.1080\/19443994.2014.922501","article-title":"A hybrid microfiltration\/ultrafiltration membrane process for treatment of oily wastewater","volume":"55","author":"Masoudnia","year":"2014","journal-title":"Desalin. Water Treat."},{"key":"ref_62","unstructured":"Hankins, N.P., and Singh, R. (2016). Emerging Membrane Technology for Sustainable Water Treatment, Elsevier."},{"key":"ref_63","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"263","DOI":"10.4491\/eer.2018.175","article-title":"Ultrafiltration of palm oil mill effluent: Effects of operational pressure and stirring speed on performance and membranes fouling","volume":"24","author":"Yunos","year":"2019","journal-title":"Environ. Eng. Res."},{"key":"ref_64","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"142","DOI":"10.1016\/j.memsci.2011.09.019","article-title":"Operation and cleaning of ceramic membranes for the filtration of fish press liquor","volume":"384","author":"Guadix","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Membr. Sci."}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/20\/4\/1161\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T08:59:19Z","timestamp":1760173159000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/20\/4\/1161"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,2,20]]},"references-count":64,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,2]]}},"alternative-id":["s20041161"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s20041161","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-8220","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,2,20]]}}}