Development of corn-stalk based aerogel for selective removal of oil from water

Abstract

The recurrent oil spillage owing to natural processes or oil transportation in marine bodies causes substantial environmental problems and aquatic life damage. In this regard, the present work envisages preparing an aerogel using waste corn-stalk as the base material. The synthesis method is easy, cost-effective, and scalable. The prepared aerogel is ultra-lightweight and possesses low density, high surface area, and porosity. Further, the water contact angle of the prepared aerogel is 142.5°. The oil sorption studies revealed that the maximum oil sorption capacity of the prepared aerogel is 28 g/g. The oil sorption kinetic study revealed that experimental data of oil sorption follows second-order kinetics. Moreover, the aerogel possesses recyclability, as seen from the oil sorption capacity of 15.22 g/g after five cycles. Furthermore, it could uptake other organic solvents with appreciable sorption capacity, thus the as-prepared aerogel can be used for the selective removal of different organic solvents from water.