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Superhydrophobic cotton fabrics for effective removal of high-density polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics: Insights from surface and colloidal analysis
Summary
A superhydrophobic non-woven cotton fabric achieved 99% removal efficiency for high-density polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics from water, with the mechanism explained by increased binding energy and positive Hamaker constants when microplastics are present in the oil phase used in the process.
After achieving a superhydrophobic non-woven cotton fabric (159 ± 1°), we confirmed its effectiveness in removing high-density polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics from water with a removal efficiency of 99%. Our findings suggest that the binding energy of microplastics increases and the Hamaker constant becomes positive when they are present in oil instead of water, leading to their aggregation. As a result, electrostatic interactions become negligible in the organic phase, and van der Waals interactions become more important. The use of the DLVO theory allowed us to confirm that solid pollutants can be easily removed from the oil using superhydrophobic materials.