Preparation of porous biomass‐based sponge with zein‐alginate for oil absorption

Abstract

In order to effectively promote the treatment of pollution containing organics or crude oil, many oil‐absorbing materials were explored. However, most of them were synthetic polymers, which was difficult to be decomposed and easily cause secondary pollution. In this study, zein and sodium alginate (SA), two cheap natural polymer materials, were used as eco‐friendly and biodegradable biomass materials; a novel porous biomass‐based sponge (ZS‐PBSp) was synthesized. Then, by impregnating with SiO2 nanoparticle (nano‐SiO2) and octadecanethiol (OCT), the modified porous sponge (ZSSiOsp) was obtained. ZSSiOsp was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared (IR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and applied to adsorb organics, such as organic solvents, petroleum products and cooking oil. It indicated that the surface of ZSSiOsp was rough, and its water contact angle (WCA) increased to 131.5°. ZSSiOsp effectively adsorbed organics, its absorption capacity got to 115.7% for chloroform and 77.6% for rapeseed oil, respectively. It also effectively separated oily substances from oil–water mixture. In summary, the obtained ZSSiOsp was an eco‐friendly material for oil absorption and separation, which was a kind of promising candidate in water treatment and environmental protection.

In Situ Redox Strategy to Fabricate Superhydrophobic Sponges for Efficient Oil–Water Separation

“…As shown, S-MMP@MS was 54.3 to 136.7 times its own weight (Table S1), demonstrating excellent saturated adsorption capacity. Compared with reported porous materials for oil–water separation (Figure S6), − the saturated adsorption capacity of the S-MMP sponge allowed it to exhibit better oil–water separation performance. It is worth noting here that the adsorption capacity of the modified sponges basically increased with the increase in the solvent density (Figure S7).…”

Recent Advances in Biomass-Based Materials for Oil Spill Cleanup

“…Dodecanethiol [ 59 ] octadecanethiol [ 109 ], and other thiols as hydrophobic modification agents for different biomass materials have been investigated. Liu et al modified porous sponge with octadecanethiol and silicon dioxide (SiO ) nanoparticles [ 41 ]. Cao et al applied 1H,1H, 2H, 2H-perflurodecanethiol to create superhydrophobic surface [ 110 ].…”

“…Finally, the separation efficiency, photocatalytic performance, and mechanical stability of this composite aerogel were both achieved the requirement for the practical application. Liu et al prepared a novel porous biomass-based sponges by using zein and SA natural polymer materials and surface hydrophobic modifying with SiO nanoparticles and octadecanethiol [ 41 ]. Taking advantage of the hydrophobic property of SiO NPs and the superior mechanical property of GO, Yang et al fabricated a superhydrophobic SA/GO/SiO aerogel with excellent selectivity, separation efficiency and oil sorption performance [ 51 ].…”

Preparation of Bio-Foam Material from Steam-Exploded Corn Straw by In Situ Esterification Modification

“…In most cases, a cross-linking agent is introduced to obtain a stable network by forming covalent bonds or ionic linkages. Moreover, a functional cross linker has been developed to adjust the hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties of the porous materials and to realize exquisite control over the pores [28,29]. As one of the main components of lignocellulosic biomass, lignin typically constitutes 20-32% by weight [30].…”