Micro-cellular polymer foam supported polyaniline-nanofiber: Eco-friendly tool for petroleum oil spill cleanup

Abstract

With the increase in tanker oil transportation and expansion of the oil transmission lines from the seas, numerous irreparable environmental damages would be caused by accidents and technical defects. This study, considered serious needs for cleaning oil stains and separating the water to fabricate samples of polyurethane adsorbent foams containing polyaniline nanofibers. Several field tests determined the efficiency of these new foams in oil absorption and sea cleaning. Then, the morphology of the polyaniline nanofibers was optimized with the selected components to improve efficiency and achieve better results in oil absorption. Upon the completion of the experiments of the experimental design table and investigation of the responses of oil sorption coefficient and cost, the most optimal sample of polyurethane foam containing polyaniline nanofibers was formed with a molar ratio of aniline/APS of 1.43, aniline/acid ratio of 0.105, and concentration of 0.433. The most optimal foam containing nanofibers with an oil sorption coefficient (OSC) of 5.038 at a cost of 1.748 USD with 74.2% desirability was obtained. After fabrication of the sample, OSC was calculated to be 4.81, which is within acceptable agreement with the amount of OSC (95%) obtained by Design-Expert software. Thus, PU foam samples containing optimal PANI nanofibers are 69% more efficient than commercial pure PU foams. Consequently, it was found that optimal synthesized foam had the enough potential to clean oil stains from the seas and reduce the environmental effects and energy consumption.