Abstract
With the rapid development of modern industry, oil spills and oily industrial wastewater have caused serious environmental problems. Thus, mitigation strategies for this pollution must be developed to alleviate worldwide concerns. A promising mitigation strategy involves the use of high-strength magnetically controlled superhydrophilic/oleophobic sponges prepared using melamine sponge, polyurethane, monolayer graphene, and Fe3O4 as basic materials. Scanning electron microscopy was used to characterize the surface morphology and roughness of this newly developed sponge. Changes in wettability and the mechanisms underlying these changes were investigated by contact angle measurements. The quantity of water absorbed by the prepared sponge in oily wastewater was 80.8 times the mass of the sponge, indicating good adsorption properties and the ability to treat oily wastewater. The experimental investigation of the mechanical properties showed that the elastic coefficient of the sponge was 1000 N/m, five times higher than that of the original sponge. The method developed herein overcomes the shortcomings of traditional oil-water separation materials, including low absorption efficiency and interference from oil, which can block adsorption sites. Therefore, the material developed herein has immense potential in industrial oil purification and oil spill purification.
Highlights
With rapid developments in modern transportation, the petrochemical industry, and marine engineering, the discharge of industrial wastewater and frequency of oil spill accidents have increased, causing serious environmental problems
The superhydrophobic/superoleophilic surface used for oil-water separation is prone to blockage and damage during oil absorption, on the membrane surfaces
Deionized water was purchased from local distributors and 8330 PU was supplied by BASF Co., Germany
Summary
With rapid developments in modern transportation, the petrochemical industry, and marine engineering, the discharge of industrial wastewater and frequency of oil spill accidents have increased, causing serious environmental problems. The superhydrophobic/ superoleophilic surfaces prepared using the above listed materials exhibited low oil absorption efficiency, limiting their application Unlike these film-based materials, sponges with a certain three-dimensional structure can achieve efficient oil-water separation and high oil absorption efficiency.. It is difficult to fabricate superhydrophilic and superoleophobic surfaces because the surface energy of the oleophobic surface is low, imparting a certain resistance to water and preventing the achievement of true superhydrophilic/superoleophobic characteristics To solve this problem, Su et al used chitosan and perfluorononic acid as basic materials to prepare magnetic superhydrophilic/superoleophobic sponges using an impregnation method. The developed material solves the shortcomings of traditional oil-water separation materials, including low absorption efficiency and susceptibility to pollution and blockage by oil This multifunctional sponge has immense potential for large-scale oil-water separation applications
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