Commercial Sponges as A Novel Technology for Crude Oil Removal from Seawater and Industrial Wastewater: A Review

Abstract

The global use of crude oil for energy applications has increased during the last decades, leading to an extensive release of oil into the environment as well. Thus, contamination deriving from oil spills and industrial wastewater has been recognized as one of the major environmental issues, imposing a serious threat to both human and marine ecosystem health. Treatment of contamination and pollution caused by crude oil constitutes a quite challenging and elaborate process. Among the conventional technologies applied for oil-water separation, oil absorption process has been widely examined in recent years. Commercial sponges, such as melamine and polyurethane sponges, have attracted great attention in the field of crude oil removal both from seawater and industrial wastewater, due to their low cost, high porous three-dimensional (3D) structure, low density, excellent mechanical properties and remarkable reusability. However, the amphipathic nature of commercial sponges limits their application for oil absorption treatment processes. In order to improve their oil absorption performance, several modification methods have been utilized. In the current manuscript, an overview of various methods used for the superhydrophobic/Superoleophilicity modification of commercially available sponges for oil-water separation, is provided, in order to highlight the potential use of these sponges as a novel, highly efficient, low-cost, recyclable and environmental friendly absorbent for the recovery of spilled crude oil both from seawater and industrial wastewater.

Magnetically Guided Synthesis of Anisotropic Porous Carbons toward Efficient CO2 Capture and Magnetic Separation of Oil

“…We also investigated the performance of RFCs in oil capture due to their high porosity, hydrophobic character, and magnetic responsiveness, which enables easy retrieval using an extremal magnetic field. Oil spills in the ocean or fresh water sources have major, long-lasting impacts on the marine ecosystem and coastal environment. , Therefore, it is essential to develop environmentally friendly and low-cost solid sorbents that can be easily recovered following oil uptake. − The incorporation of magnetic nanoparticles in porous materials has been actively investigated for environmental remediation. ,− , However, most of these approaches involve rather elaborate, multistep syntheses to render the materials magnetic. In this sense, our approach to preparing RFCs presents significant advantages due to the ease of their synthesis, efficient mass transport, and improved kinetics, along with a high and well-dispersed iron content.…”

“…Oil spills in the ocean or fresh water sources have major, long-lasting impacts on the marine ecosystem and coastal environment. 59,60 Therefore, it is essential to develop environmentally friendly and low-cost solid sorbents that can be easily recovered following oil uptake. 60−67 The incorporation of magnetic nanoparticles in porous materials has been actively investigated for environmental remediation.…”