Evaluation of Electrospun Polyvinyl Chloride/Polystyrene Fibers As Sorbent Materials for Oil Spill Cleanup

Abstract

A novel, high-capacity oil sorbent consisting of polyvinyl chloride (PVC)/polystyrene (PS) fiber was prepared by an electrospinning process. The sorption capacity, oil/water selectivity, and sorption mechanism of the PVC/PS sorbent were studied. The results showed that the sorption capacities of the PVC/PS sorbent for motor oil, peanut oil, diesel, and ethylene glycol were 146, 119, 38, and 81 g/g, respectively. It was about 5-9 times that of a commercial polypropylene (PP) sorbent. The PVC/PS sorbent also had excellent oil/water selectivity (about 1000 times) and high buoyancy in the cleanup of oil over water. The SEM analysis indicated that voids among fibers were the key for the high capacity. The electrospun PVC/PS sorbent is a better alternative to the widely used PP sorbent for oil spill cleanup.

Polymeric Sorbents for the Collection of Oil and Oil Products from the Surface of Reservoirs: a 2000–2017 Review of the English-language Literature (Part 2)

“…Новый эффективный нефтесорбент, со-стоящий из поливинилхлоридно(ПВХ)-поли-стирольного волокна, был изготовлен методом электроформования [8]. Исследованы его сорбци-онная ёмкость, селективность разделения нефть/ вода и механизм сорбции нефти.…”

Analysis of emulsions concentration changes during imbibition in porous sorbents

“…natural, inorganic mineral, and synthetic, preferably used are the last ones because of a high-efficiency and a low-cost technology as well as numerous exploitation advantages. The results of researches related to the effectiveness of polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene and their modified variants as sorbents of oils, and its refined products from water surface were discussed in the scientific literature (Teas et al 2001;Wei et al 2003;Wei et al 2005;Zhu et al 2011;Lin et al 2012;Wu et al 2012).…”

“…A part of the literature is also dedicated to the methods of synthetic sorbents modification and estimation of their abilities to be applied for the oil-spill-derivative hydrocarbons removal (Ceylan et al 2009;Qi et al 2011;Zhu et al 2011;Lin et al 2012;Atta et al 2013;Saleem et al 2014). The efficiency of the macroporous polymeric material consisting of butyl rubber as a sorbent was investigated in laboratory conditions.…”

“…almost by 300 % in comparison with the application of the pure felt (Qi et al 2011). The sorption capacity of a sorbent consisting of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene (PS) fibre prepared by an electrospinning process was investigated in the publication of Zhu et al (2011). The results showed that the sorption ability of the PVC/PS sorbent for different oily liquids can be displayed in such order: motor oil [ peanut oil [ ethylene glycol [ diesel (Zhu et al 2011).…”

“…The sorption capacity of a sorbent consisting of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene (PS) fibre prepared by an electrospinning process was investigated in the publication of Zhu et al (2011). The results showed that the sorption ability of the PVC/PS sorbent for different oily liquids can be displayed in such order: motor oil [ peanut oil [ ethylene glycol [ diesel (Zhu et al 2011). Polystyrene produced by means of the electrospinning method and characterized with high specific surface of fibres was reported to be an excellent sorbent for vegetable and motor oils due to the combination of absorption and adsorption processes (Lin et al 2012).…”