Electrospinning of polystyrene polybutadiene copolymer for oil spill removal

Abstract

Cleanup of spilled oil is a difficult process, and it depends on various factors, including the viscosity and the type of the oil spilled, the temperature and the type of water. Oil sorbent nanofibers were prepared from polystyrene polybutadiene copolymer (PSBR) by the electrospinning process using dimethylformamide (DMF), tetrahydrofuran (THF) or mixture of THF and DMF. The fibers surface morphology, crystallinity, hydrophobicity and the sorption capacity, reusability over potable water and seawater were studied. The electrospinning of PSBR in THF produced a structure having a combination of fibers, beads and cup-shaped structures, while the electrospun nanofibers from DMF have more uniform shape and structure. It was found that the average PSBR fibers diameters formed from 10 wt% in THF, DMF and mixture of THF and DMF with the ratio of 50:50 are 80, 1200 and 900 nm, respectively. The results revealed that the contact angle of PSBR fibrous sorbent increased by increasing the concentration of electrospun polymer solution and reached 153 degrees. Moreover, the sorption capacity for crude oil, gas oil and motor oil was 50, 62 and 125 g/g, respectively. The sorption capacity of PSBR nanofibers is higher than regular polystyrene (PS) nanofibers making it a highly promising material for oily water purification.