Fabrication of coral-like superhydrophobic coating on filter paper for water–oil separation

Functionalized Cellulose Networks for Efficient Oil Removal from Oil–Water Emulsions

“…Polymers 2016, 8,52 scale up the fabrication process [6,7]. Nevertheless, utilization of cellulose fibers in large scale wateroil separation applications presents great advantages due to their abundance, low cost, biodegradability and excellent thermal and chemical stability.…”

“…Cellulose networks are porous, micro-textured materials [7,16], with a strong affinity for water due to the presence of the abundant hydroxyl groups of cellulose. Numerous efforts have been made in order to turn these materials into water-resistant multifunctional systems, thus expanding their applicability in diverse technological fields [17][18][19][20].…”

“…Numerous efforts have been made in order to turn these materials into water-resistant multifunctional systems, thus expanding their applicability in diverse technological fields [17][18][19][20]. To this end, studies have been conducted on the surface modification of cellulosic FP, which is commonly used for particle separation/filtration processes [9], in order to be utilized as an oil-water separator [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. However, the majority of the proposed treatments demand complex preparation processes, some of the treatments have a high cost, the materials utilized limit the recyclability of the final system, and in some cases is difficult to scale up the fabrication process [6,7].…”

“…Such materials present advantages due to the large surface-to-volume ratio, but also due to the synergistic effect of the properties of the individual components such as the mechanical properties of the polymeric support and the functionalities of the developed organic or inorganic layers. In particular, hydrophobic-oleophilic or hydrophilic-oleophobic functionalities are introduced on filter paper (FP), polymer films, foams, and textiles [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] upon the utilization of macromolecular layers, nano or micro-particles, nanofibers, etc., making these materials able to separate floating oils on water or water-oil emulsions.…”

“…To this end, studies have been conducted on the surface modification of cellulosic FP, which is commonly used for particle separation/filtration processes [9], in order to be utilized as an oil-water separator [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. However, the majority of the proposed treatments demand complex preparation processes, some of the treatments have a high cost, the materials utilized limit the recyclability of the final system, and in some cases is difficult to scale up the fabrication process [6,7]. Nevertheless, utilization of cellulose fibers in large scale water-oil separation applications presents great advantages due to their abundance, low cost, biodegradability and excellent thermal and chemical stability.…”