Synthesis of Honeycomb-Like Carbon Foam from Larch Sawdust as Efficient Absorbents for Oil Spills Cleanup and Recovery

Abstract

Hydrophobic oil absorbents with interconnected porous structure have been widely used in dealing with the pervasive environmental issue of oil spills. In this work, hydrophobic foams with 3D interconnected porous honeycomb structures of liquefied-larch-based polymer foam (LLB-PF) and its carbonized product liquefied-larch-based carbon foam (LLB-CF) was prepared from larch sawdust waste and used for oil and organics separation. The results revealed that the 3D interconnected and open-cell honeycomb structure of LLB-PF was formed simultaneously during self-foaming, which remained intact even after carbonization. The two ultralight foams, especially LLB-PF, exhibited remarkable oil/water selectivity. The foams exhibited efficient and rapid absorption capacities, not only for oils but also for organic solvents. LLB-PF and LLB-CF could absorb tetrachloromethane and epoxidized soybean oil up to 88 and 153 times their own weight, respectively. The recycle tests showed that LLB-PF and LLB-CF exhibited excellent absorption capacities even after five cycles, demonstrating an excellent cyclability. The high oil and organic solvent absorption performance along with the renewable and low-cost starting materials positions LLB-PF and LLB-CF foams as promising candidates with great potential for oil and organics cleanup.

Superhydrophobic foam prepared from high internal phase emulsion templates stabilised by oyster shell powder for oil–water separation

“…These materials can particularly absorb oil and repel water, demonstrating also high oil absorption capacities. [2][3][4] Therefore, a large number of polymers have been treated as oil absorbents, such as foams, 5 resins, 6 sponges, 7 aerogels 8 etc. They are placed on the oil surface of water, where they only adsorb oil selectively, and can then be recycled.…”

Development of a Hydrophobic Carbon Sponge Nanocomposite for Oil Spill Cleanup

“…In order to further increase the adsorption capacity of materials with high adsorption capacity and good selectivity, the introduction of these precursors as additives in the matrix of porous polymers [ 13 ], such as resins [ 14 , 15 ], foams [ 1 , 16 ], sponges [ 17 , 18 ], and aerogels [ 19 , 20 , 21 ] has also attracted interest. Polyurethane (PU) composites with honeycomb structure [ 22 ], PU–clay [ 23 ], PU–carbon [ 24 ], and PU–graphene [ 17 , 25 ] have recently been investigated for the separation of water–oil systems.…”

Polyurethane Foams Loaded with Carbon Nanofibers for Oil Spill Recovery: Mechanical Properties under Fatigue Conditions and Selective Absorption in Oil/Water Mixtures

“…Many natural sorbents, like sawdust [ 5 ], wool fiber [ 6 ], and zeolite [ 7 ], have been investigated, but the main limitations are represented by the low oil selectivity for oil/water systems and very limited recyclability. A porous polymeric composite is considered as an effective adsorption material because it is easy to prepare and to recycle, it has a satisfactory adsorption capacity and a good oil selectivity after opportune tuning of hydrophobic and hydrophilic chemical structure of the surface [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. To date, several polymer grades have been employed as oil adsorbents, such as foams [ 12 , 13 ], resins [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ], sponges [ 18 ], and aerogels [ 19 , 20 ].…”