Oil Sorption Materials Research Articles

Smart win–win waste management: superhydrophobic filter using valorized cellulose acetate from discarded cigarette butts for cleaning up marine oil spill at Hurghada Red Sea shore in Egypt

The essential target of academics and the industrial sector is the innovation of an industrial ecology approach. Worldwide, cigarette butts (CBs) comprise the most predominant form of litter that spreads into the ecosystem and inland. In the meantime, oil is spilled into marine life from various activities and transportation. The result is a complex oil–water composition in a high concentration that causes severe hazards to the environment and to aquatic life. In this regard, the current investigation focuses on obtaining hydrophobic cellulose acetate from CBs for use as a filter media. The filter is applied in marine oil spill separation as a win–win industrial ecology technique. Initially, the separated CB residuals were prepared by successive washing. Subsequently, the obtained cellulose acetate fibers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the new CB-based filters were used in the separation/adsorption of marine oil wastewater spill. Subsequently, a group of experiments were conducted. The results showed that the cleanup efficiency could be up to 99% in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD). Moreover, the products were recovered by washing with hot water for further use, which showed high removal activity that reached 95% after successive uses. In comparison to commercial oil sorption materials, the results were promising as the RP-C18 cartridge revealed a maximum oil removal of 90%. Such preliminary data on a cellulose acetate filter scheme are a good indicator in the development of an oil spill facility, being a suitable candidate for controlling oil wastewater effluent streams.

Hollow polyester/kapok/hollow polyester fiber-based needle punched nonwoven composite materials for rapid and efficient oil sorption.

Nowadays oil pollution poses a serious threat to the environment and people's daily life. As reusable and environmentally friendly materials, fiber-based oil sorption materials can effectively alleviate this phenomenon. However, maintaining a high sorption rate along with improved mechanical properties remains a challenge for oil sorption materials. Herein, we report a novel hollow PET/kapok/hollow PET nonwoven with high porosity and oil retention, outstanding cyclic oil sorption rate and improved mechanical performance using kapok as the oil preserver and hollow PET as the conductor and structure enhancer. Benefiting from the three-layer composite structure fabricated by carding and needle punching reinforcement, the resulting oil sorption materials, with kapok proportion more than or equal to 60%, exhibited high oil sorption rate and oil sorption speed. The materials of 20HP/60K/20HP component content present a high initial oil sorption rate of 28.22 g g-1, a maximum oil sorption rate of 31.17 g g-1 and a sorption rate constant of the Quasi second-order kinetic equation of 0.067 in plant oil. On the other hand, when the proportion of kapok fiber in the material was below 60%, due to the introduction of hollow PET, the mechanical properties were significantly boosted, and its oil retention and reusability were distinguished, with a reuse rate stabilizing at a relatively high level (>93%) in plant oil after undergoing three oil sorption cycles. The successful fabrication of hollow PET/kapok/hollow PET nonwovens could provide a new approach for the design and development of oil sorption materials.

Гидрофобизация сорбента для нефти на основе хитина и пенополиуретана

Быстрый рост случаев разливов нефти и нефтепродуктов, ведущих к загрязнению водных объектов, мотивирует быструю разработку сорбционных материалов для очистки воды от нефтяных загрязнений. Для эффективного удаления нефтяных загрязнений необходим высоко гидрофобный материал с хорошей нефтеемкостью. В данном исследовании предпринята попытка увеличить гидрофобность сорбционного материала на основе пенополиуретана и хитина (PPU10C) путем его пропитки раствором стеариновой кислоты (СК) с получением гидрофобизированного сорбента (PPU10C-SA). Исследовано влияние времени обработки и концентрации СК на ее содержание в конечном сорбционном материале и на его сорбционную способность по отношению к нефти и воде. Показано, что оптимальные условия для получения гидрофобного материала следующие: концентрация СК - 0,01 г/мл и время обработки 60 мин. При этом нефтеемкость материала достигает 12,54 г/г, а водоемкость составляет 1,44 г/г. Таким образом, гидрофобность модифицированного сорбционного материала увеличена в 4 раза по сравнению с немодифицированным материалом. Полученные результаты свидетельствуют о том, что сорбционный материал, модифицированный стеариновой кислотой, является перспективным сорбентом для эффективной очистки водных сред от их загрязнения нефтью и нефтепродуктами. The rapidly-growing increase in the events of oil spills in the water environment motivates researchers to the fast development of oil sorbents. The oil pollution removal process requires a highly hydrophobic sorption material with suitable oil capacity. This study presents the results of preparing oil sorption material (PPU10C-SA) with improved hydrophobicity which is based on polyurethane foam and chitin sorbent (PPU10C) by impregnating it with the stearic acid (SA) solution. The influence of the impregnation time and concentration of SA on its content in the resulted sorbent and on its sorption capacity in relation to oil and water is studied. It is shown that the optimal conditions for obtaining the improved hydrophobized material are as follows: the concentration of SA - 0.01 g/ml and the impregnation time - 60 min. In this case, the oil capacity of the material reaches 12.54 g/g along with the water capacity of 1.44 g/g. Thus, the hydrophobicity of the modified sorbent has been increased 4 times in comparison with that of the unmodified material. The obtained results indicate that the SA-modified PPU10C-SA oil sorbent can be a promising sorbent for efficient water purification from spills of oil and oil products.

Foam or cotton covered by superhydrophobic micro-SiO2/fiberglass cloth for oil absorption

A novel porous oil-sorption material covered by a superhydrophobic fiberglass cloth was fabricated, in which the superhydrophobic fiberglass cloth facilitated oil–water separation and the cotton or foam provided storage for the oil that permeated through the superhydrophobic fiberglass cloth. It is crucial to prepare superhydrophobic silica (SiO2) particles by the application of dodecyltrimethoxysilane. Epoxy resin was used as a binder to coat superhydrophobic silica on the surface of the fiberglass cloth. The adhesive force between the fiberglass cloth and the superhydrophobic silica was found to be strong. The water contact angle of the superhydrophobic microsilica/fiberglass cloth (modified fiberglass cloth) was 155 ± 1°, the oil contact angle was always 0° and the water–oil separation efficiency was 95.80%. The modified fiberglass cloth showed good acid–alkali resistance. Cotton or foam covered by the superhydrophobic microsilica/fiberglass cloth had good water–oil separation performance, oil-sorption recyclability and a maximum oil-sorption capacity for high-temperature oil of up to 17.07 ± 0.59 g/g. As oil-sorption materials are simple to manufacture and inexpensive, they are a good option for use in the removal of oil pollutants.

Hydrophobic cellulose aerogel from waste napkin paper for oil sorption applications

Abstract This study is the first, to the best of our knowledge, where waste napkin paper was successfully valorized to low-density (27.2 mg cm−3) cellulose aerogels for oil sorption material. Two simple methods with different gel coagulators, ethanol and sulfuric acid, were used for preparation of the aerogel. Conditions for the alkaline treatment of the raw material and the pre-freezing temperature in the lyophilization process were optimized. It was found that the water and oil sorption capacities of the aerogels were not significantly affected by alkaline treatment, while they could be adjusted by changing the pre-freezing temperature. Although the produced aerogels were initially amphiphilic, hydrophobic surfaces were obtained by vapor deposition of methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) and these materials possessed high sorption capacities, up to 32.24 cm3 g−1 (28.56 g g−1) for pump oil and 26.77 cm3 g−1 (39.59 g g−1) for chloroform. This was comparable to aerogels prepared from fresh cellulosic materials via the sol-gel method, as their sorption capacities varied in the range of 14–45 g g−1.

Effects of solvent ratio on the encapsulation of carbon nanotubes/Arthrospira platensis composite within electrospun poly(methyl methacrylate) nanofiber

In recent times, oil spills have plagued oceanic bodies across the globe and has caused catastrophic consequences to the marine ecosystem. As such, this study focuses on developing an oil sorption material capable of removing oil efficiently from water. Electrospinning technique was employed to create biomimetic nanofibers containing carbon nanotube/Arthrospira platensis with PMMA as a base polymer. The composite is vital to fabricate the biomimetic nanofibers as it produces well-defined nanofibers and gives the nanofibers unique configurations for oil sorption. The properties of electrospun nanofibers were examined using FT-IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffractometer. Besides that, the properties of nanofibers were examined through thorough FESEM analysis. Better barrier and morphological properties were obtained for composite nanofibers than for pure polymer nanofibers.

MnCl2 as a Novel Catalyst for Acetylation of Cotton-Giza 86 Cellulose and its Application to Machine Oil Removal

Cotton-Giza 86 Gossypium hirsutum (Egyptian cotton) was used to produce cellulose that efficiently esterified with acetic anhydride in the presence of manganese (II) chloride tetra-hydrate as a novel catalyst in a solvent free system under conventional reflux and microwave irradiation conditions. The influence of the amount of catalyst and the time of reaction on the esterification process have been studied. Best result was achieved from refluxing of 20 g of cellulose and 2.0 g of MnCl2 in 300 mL of AC2O for 48 h. The acetylated Cotton-Giza 86 cellulose can be also obtained in 91% yield under microwave irradiation within 6 min using 200 mL of AC2O and 1 g of MnCl2. The production of acetylated Cotton-Giza 86 cellulose was confirmed by FT-IR, 1H-NMR and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). The heavy and light oil machine sorption capacities of the acetylated Cotton-Giza 86 cellulose were respectively 2.1 and 1.2 times higher than the commercial synthetic oil sorbent polypropylene fibers. The results implied that acetylated Cotton-Giza 86 cellulose can be used as a substitute for non-biodegradable oil sorption materials.

Kapok fiber as a natural source for fabrication of oil absorbent

Background Plenty of oil spills cause an increasing demand for the oil sorption materials. Kapok fiber, as a kind of natural fiber, shows promising potential as oil absorbents as it is available abundantly and exhibits high absorption capacity. The superhydrophobicity kapok fiber based on graphene modified with 1H,1H,2H,2H - perfluorodecyltriclorosilane (FTS) was prepared. Results FTS modified graphene coated kapok fiber (FGRKF) were characterized by contact angle, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning and electron microscopy. After modification, the contact angle of water on kapok fiber rose from 114.7° to 150.6°. The oil sorption capacities of kapok fiber for diesel, soybean oil and lubricating oil were 27.55, 38.28 and 43.57 g/g. While, the oil sorption capacities of FGRKF for diesel, soybean oil and lubricating oil could reach 50.74, 61.08 and 68.26 g/g, respectively. Conclusion The superhydrophobic/superoleophilic FGRKF is a kind of efficient oil sorption material, which can be used as a desirable material for the cleanup of oil spills. This work also provided a simple method for fabrication of superhydrophobic oil absorption material.

PAHs in Household Floor Dust Collected in Amman, Jordan

PP-g-MAA oil sorption materials were synthesized by graft polymerization method of methacrylic acid (MAA) onto polypropylene fibers (PP) using divilylbenzene (DVB) as cross-linking agent. The virgin and grafted PP fibers were characterized by FT-IR, SEM, TGA, and DSC analysis. The results revealed that MAA was grafted onto PP fibers successfully. Factors affected the grafting yield (GY) were examined such as monomer concentration, initiator concentration, effects of temperature as well as reaction time. At the DVB and MAA concentrations of 1.5% and 2%, respectively, the maximum GY was obtained (73.1%). The obtained correlation coefficient (R2) from well-known Langmuir sorption isotherms suggested well-fitting of the experimental data, which is assumed that at maximum coverage with identical sorption sites, there is monomolecular layer sorption on the PP-g-MAA surface. Oil sorption capacity of PP-g-MAA fibers was investigated which revealed a maximum oil sorption capacity (qmax) of 20.833 g/g. SEM pictures and FTIR results were taken for these materials under test.

Pomelo peel modified with acetic anhydride and styrene as new sorbents for removal of oil pollution

Pomelo peel (PP), as one of the well-known agricultural wastes, is cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Based on PP, two new kinds of oil sorbents were prepared by using acetic anhydride and styrene. The structures of raw pomelo peel (RP), acetic anhydride-treated pomelo peel (AP) and styrene-treated pomelo peel (SP) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact-angle (CA) measurements. The optimum reaction conditions for preparation of AP and SP were also investigated. The resulting products exhibited better oil sorption capacity than that of RP for diesel and lubricating oil, also SP had better oil sorption capacity than AP, while the oil sorption capacities of SP for diesel and lubricating oil reached 18.91 and 26.36g/g, respectively. Adsorption kinetics was well described by the pseudo-second-order model. The results indicated that AP and SP, especially SP could be used as the substitute for non-biodegradable oil sorption materials.

A facile method to fabricate functionally integrated devices for oil/water separation.

In this paper, we present a facile method for the fabrication of a functionally integrated device, which has the multi-functions of the oil-containment boom, oil-sorption material, and water/oil-separating film, through a single immersion step in an ethanol solution of stearic acid. During the simple immersion process, the two dominant factors of superhydrophobicity, surface roughness and low-surface-energy coatings, could be accomplished simultaneously. The as-prepared functionally integrated device with superhydrophobicity/superoleophilicity displayed a lower density than that of water, such that it could float on water and act as an oil-containment boom; an efficient oil-absorbing property, which was attributed to the capillary effect caused by micrometer-sized pore structures and could be used as oil-sorption materials; a high oil/water separating efficiency which was suitable for water/oil-separating film. In this way, the functions of oil collection, absorption, and water/oil separation are integrated into a single device, and these functions could work independently, reducing the cost in terms of energy consumption and being versatile for a wide range of applications.

An investigation of the effectiveness of locally available materials as oil spill sorbents for Sri Lanka

The effectiveness of seven locally avai lable natural organ ic materials as oi I spi II sorbents was tested.The study specifically focused on determining, the behaviour of loose material on a layer of oil, oilsorption capacity of different types of materials and the viability of using them under actual fieldconditions. The seven natural organic materials were chosen based on their availability and cost. Theamount of oi I sorption by each was determined by the gravimetric method and the rate of sorption wasdetermined. A commercially available synthetic oil sorbent, polyurethane. was used as the positivecontrol. Out of the seven natural organic materials tested, human hair was found to be the mosteffective sorbent. Compared to the positive control, Polyurethane, there was no significant differencewith respect to the oil sorption capacity of human hair. Therefore, all the subsequent experimentswere carried out using human hair only. As hair has a tendency to sink in sea water after oil sorption,hair was compacted in to pillows to facilitate the recovery after sorption. First, the affect of the pillowthickness on the oil sorption capacity was tested. Oil sorption capacity increased significantly as thethickness of the pillow increased and a thickness of Iern was found to yield the most efficient sorption.Then sorption capacity of oil by pillows was compared on a sea water oil interphase. only on oil and oilon sand. No significant difference was detected in the oil sorption capacity of hair filled pillows underthese three conditions. Finally, a field trial was conducted where pillows were developed up to the sizeof commercially avai lable synthetic pi llows and placed on an artificially created oil spi II and tested theoil sorption capacity under actual field conditions. A total offour pillows were used for the field trialand the pillows were removed at different time intervals after placing it on the artificial oil slick. Theresults of th is experiment were not conclusive as amount of oi I absorbed by all four pi llows did notreach the expected value calculated based on results obtained during laboratory experiments. due toseveral shortcomings in the experimental design. The results of this study clearly demonstrate thathuman hair can be used as an effective oil sorption material. As waste human hair is cheap andreadily available, it is a much more viable alternative to expensive synthetic organic material availablein the market.

Investigation of acetylated kapok fibers on the sorption of oil in water

Kapok fibers have been acetylated for oil spill cleanup in the aqueous environment. The structures of raw and acetylated kapok fiber were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Without severe damage to the lumen structures, the kapok fibers were successfully acetylated and the resulting fibers exhibited a better oil sorption capacity than raw fibers for diesel and soybean oil. Compared with high viscosity soybean oil, low viscosity diesel shows a better affinity to the surface of acetylated fibers. Sorption kinetics is fitted well by the pseudo second-order model, and the equilibrium data can be described by the Freundlich isotherm model. The results implied that acetylated kapok fiber can be used as the substitute for non-biodegradable oil sorption materials.

Preparation and properties of kapok fiber enhanced oil sorption resins by suspended emulsion polymerization

AbstractIn this work, a series of polybutylmethacrylate/kapok fiber (PBMA/KF) composites were synthesized by suspended emulsion polymerization and well characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of reaction parameters, such as amount of initiator, crosslinker, emulsifier, KF content on oil absorbency, were investigated in detail. The optimum polymerization conditions were obtained as initiator of 0.4 wt %, crosslinker of 1.0 wt %, emulsifier of 2.0 wt %, and KF content of 8.0 wt %. Compared with PBMA, the as‐prepared PBMA/KF (8 wt % KF) showed better oil sorption capacity, with the increase percentage of 58.7% in toluene and 66.7% in chloroform. Swelling behavior indicated that the sorption equilibrium was established basically within 15 min, and the incorporation of KF can promote the oil sorption rate. Furthermore, the composite exhibited better reusability and oil retention capabilities, and can be recognized as a kind of low‐cost oil sorption materials for oil pollution treatment. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013

A Functionally Integrated Device for Effective and Facile Oil Spill Cleanup

In this Letter, we have fabricated a multifunctional device for highly efficient and inexpensive oil spill cleanup by combining electroless metal deposition with self-assembled monolayers, which has integrated the functions of oil containment booms, oil-sorption materials, oil skimmers, and water-oil separating devices. This functionally integrated device has a lower density than that of water, which leads to a potential application as oil containment booms; it can take up oil that is 3.5 times its own weight, which shows excellent oil-sorption properties, with the water-oil separating yield of the as-prepared device being up to 92%. The device has the advantages of high efficiency, capacity of antiwave, and reproducibility, which is suitable for many types of organic solvents or oils, even for emulsion of petroleum and water, and thus is a proof-of-principle idea to be applied in marine spilt oil cleanup and other water-oil separating systems.