Bamboo charcoal fused with polyurethane foam for efficiently removing organic solvents from wastewater: experimental and simulation

Abstract

The development of a multifunctional oil adsorbing material which could effectively and quickly separate oily wastewater is one of the focuses in water environment restoration. In this study, bamboo charcoal (BC) was used as an improver to modify polyurethane (PU) foam. The results of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed that the addition of BC could effectively improve the mechanical properties of PU. The adsorption data exhibited that the BC-loaded PU (BC/PU) foam composites effectively removed seven organic solvents (OSs, including octane, petroleum ether, soybean oil, chlorobenzene, 1,2-dichloroethane, n-hexane, cyclohexane), and the maximum adsorption capacity of BC/PU was 23.6 g g−1 when BC content was 5%. The order of pseudo-second-order kinetic constants and maximum adsorption capacity of seven OSs was octane < petroleum ether < soybean oil < chlorobenzene < 1, 2-dichloroethane < cyclohexane < n-hexane. Based on the experimental data and density functional theory (DFT) simulation, the adsorption mechanism of OSs on BC/PU-5 was discussed. The EHOMO and μ of OSs calculated by DFT were highly correlated with absorption affinity (K2, Qe and Qmax). Hence, the contribution of OSs to the adsorption efficiency of BC/PU-5 may be mainly due to electron donor–acceptor (EDA) interaction and non-hydrophobic interaction. In addition, the adsorption capacity did not change significantly after repeated recycling 5 times. Overall, the prepared BC/PU foam composites could be used as a potential candidate for separating OSs in engineering applications. Graphical Abstract

Sustainable high-efficiency removal of cationic and anionic dyes using new super adsorbent biochar: performance, isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic evaluation

“…The adsorption process can be divided into two distinct phases. 70 However, the faster removal (higher gradient and physical reaction) takes place in the 1st step up to 90 min, confirming the greater abundance of vacant active sites. In the 2nd step (chemical reaction), a negligible increment in q t has been observed owing to the saturation of the surface-active sites resulting in the establishment of equilibrium.…”

Continuous Synthesis of Methacrolein over Sulfonic Acid Resin Catalysts: Unraveling the Effect of Acid Strength and Solvent Permittivity

“…Various characterizations of chemical properties and surface structure were performed on the fresh and used catalysts to verify the catalytic stability of NKC-9 after 300 h of continuous operation for MAL production. FT-IR and 13 C MAS-NMR are important characterization techniques which can identify chemical bonds in a molecule by producing an infrared absorption spectrum and a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum . Both the FT-IR and 13 C MAS-NMR spectra (Figure a,b) show no discernible change, indicating that the functional groups of −SO 3 H and the cross-linked polymer groups of styrene and divinylbenzene are still stable in the catalyst after the operation.…”

“…FT-IR and 13 C MAS-NMR are important characterization techniques which can identify chemical bonds in a molecule by producing an infrared absorption spectrum and a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum. 77 Both the FT-IR and 13 C MAS-NMR spectra (Figure 10a,b) show no discernible change, indicating that the functional groups of −SO 3 H and the cross-linked polymer groups of styrene and divinylbenzene are still stable in the catalyst after the operation. XRD is a technique used in materials science to determine the crystallographic structure of a material.…”

Immobilization of biogenic metal nanoparticles on sustainable materials – green approach applied to wastewater treatment: a systematic review

“…161,190 Alternative supports including sustainable natural biopolymers such as cellulose, chitosan, alginate, dextran and starch have been recently employed for the preparation of supported MNP. 191,192 Biopolymers offer several advantages compared to traditional supports including low toxicity and cost, high biocompatibility, availability and abundance as well as delivering unique functions as per their use. 193 These natural or cheap precursor materials, therefore, ensure that a reasonable quantity of nanocomposite can be produced and that there is potential for upscaling.…”