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Efficient and Fast Removal of Oils from Water Surfaces via Highly Oleophilic Polyurethane Composites
Summary
Researchers developed polyurethane foam composites coated with silica or activated carbon that can absorb up to 50% more oil from water than plain foam. Improved oil-spill cleanup materials also have relevance to removing other hydrophobic pollutants, including those that bind to microplastics in water.
In this study we evaluated the oil adsorption capacity of an aliphatic polyurethane foam (PU <b>1</b>) and two of its composites, produced through surface coating using microparticles of silica (PU-Si <b>2</b>) and activated carbon (PU-ac <b>3</b>). The oil adsorption capacity in diesel was improved up to 36% using the composite with silica and up to 50% using the composite with activated carbon with respect to the initial PU <b>1</b>. Excellent performances were retained in gasoline and motor oil. The adsorption was complete after a few seconds. The process follows a monolayer adsorption fitted by the Langmuir isotherm, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 29.50 g/g of diesel for the composite with activated carbon (PU-ac <b>3</b>). These materials were proved to be highly oleophilic for oil removal from fresh water and sea water samples. Regeneration and reuse can be repeated up to 50 times by centrifugation, without a significant loss in adsorption capacity.
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