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Abstract
Hydrophobic oil absorbents with interconnected porous structure have been widely used in dealing with the pervasive environmental issue of oil spills. In this work, hydrophobic foams with 3D interconnected porous honeycomb structures of liquefied-larch-based polymer foam (LLB-PF) and its carbonized product liquefied-larch-based carbon foam (LLB-CF) was prepared from larch sawdust waste and used for oil and organics separation. The results revealed that the 3D interconnected and open-cell honeycomb structure of LLB-PF was formed simultaneously during self-foaming, which remained intact even after carbonization. The two ultralight foams, especially LLB-PF, exhibited remarkable oil/water selectivity. The foams exhibited efficient and rapid absorption capacities, not only for oils but also for organic solvents. LLB-PF and LLB-CF could absorb tetrachloromethane and epoxidized soybean oil up to 88 and 153 times their own weight, respectively. The recycle tests showed that LLB-PF and LLB-CF exhibited excellent absorption capacities even after five cycles, demonstrating an excellent cyclability. The high oil and organic solvent absorption performance along with the renewable and low-cost starting materials positions LLB-PF and LLB-CF foams as promising candidates with great potential for oil and organics cleanup.
Highlights
The development of industrialized societies was accompanied by oil and organic pollution, including frequent oil spills, leakage of organic solvents and oily industrial wastewater, causing severe environmental and ecological problems [1,2,3,4]
The separation abilities of liquefied-larch-based polymer foam (LLB-PF) and liquefied-larch-based carbon foam (LLB-carbon foams (CFs)) were demonstrated by direct separation of a mixture of water and organics stained with Sudan 3, which was poured into one side of the trough, left to stand for a simple gravity-driven separation to completion
The surface hydrophobic and superoleophilic properties of LLB-PF were quantified with a cooperation of surface chemical compositions and large/minute-scale bubbles structure, the water droplet contact angle and N,N-dimethylformamide stained with methylene blue
Summary
The development of industrialized societies was accompanied by oil and organic pollution, including frequent oil spills, leakage of organic solvents and oily industrial wastewater, causing severe environmental and ecological problems [1,2,3,4]. Foam absorbents composed of interconnected open-cell structures are new-generation materials with outstanding properties that have been extensively investigated, offering potential applications as catalyst supports [20,21], supercapacitors [22,23,24], thermal energy storage [25,26], and absorbents [27,28,29]. Their hydrophobicity, high absorptive capacity, low density, high porosity and excellent thermal stability make them attractive candidates for oil and organic solvent clean up. Their capability for use in separation was demonstrated by applying them as filters for the direct separation of a mixture of water and organics
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