Preparation and performance of superhydrophobic⁃superlipophilic melamine sponge for oil⁃water separation

doi:10.19491/j.issn.1001-9278.2023.09.005

Abstract

Abstract:

A simple， efficient， and environmentally friendly method was adopted for oil⁃water separation by means of the improved Hummers method for preparing graphene oxide （GO）. The reduced GO （rGO） was first loaded on a melamine sponge （MS） by using a simple immersion method and a high temperature reduction method. Then， the MS was heated by a diesel oil， and the long chain alkanes were loaded on the MS. A superhydrophobic⁃superlipophilic sponge was successfully prepared. The addition of rGO increased the roughness of sponge surface， and the introduction of long⁃chain alkanes reduced the surface energy of sponge surface. The modified MS exhibited good performance in elasticity， thermal stability， and oil absorption. The oil⁃water separation performance test results indicated that a separation efficiency of over 97 % was achieved for various oil⁃water mixtures. When the pump provided dynamic external force， a static continuous oil⁃water separation could be realized without stirring and dynamic continuous oil⁃water separation under agitation. The modified MS presented good reusability and chemical stability after using for 20 times. Its separation efficiency for various oil⁃water mixtures reached more than 70 %. Even in the water at different pH values， the oil⁃water separation could be realized， and n⁃hexane in water emulsion could be effectively separated.

Key words: graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, long chain alkanes, melamine sponge, superhydrophobic?super?lipophilic, oil?water separation

CLC Number:

TQ323

ZHOU Long, DU Guoyong, DENG Chunping. Preparation and performance of superhydrophobic⁃superlipophilic melamine sponge for oil⁃water separation[J]. China Plastics, 2023, 37(9): 28-38.

Figures/Tables 15

Fig.1. （a） Clean MS，（b） the heating process of rGO⁃MS in diesel oil at 180 ℃ and （c） rGO@diesel⁃MS

Fig.2. Schematic diagram of continuous oil⁃water separation simulator

Fig.3. （a） Contact angle of modified MS to water and various oils or organic solvents；（b）~（d） Process diagram of modified MS immersed in water under external force and floating to the surface after removing external force

Fig.4. SEM of blank MS （a） and （b） as well as modified MS of （c） and （d）

Fig.5. Infrared spectrogram of （a） graphite， GO and rGO，（b） MS， rGO⁃MS， diesel MS and modified MS

Fig.6. TGA diagram of （a） graphite， GO and rGO，（b）MS， rGO⁃MS， diesel MS and modified MS

样品	T_5%/℃	T_max/℃	质量保留率/%	质量保留率/%	质量保留率/%	质量保留率/%
MS	86	392	94.8 （108 ℃）	50.3 （440 ℃）	19.4 （600 ℃）	— —
柴油⁃MS	67	377	91.4 （107 ℃）	47.2 （430 ℃）	20.4 （600 ℃）	— —
rGO⁃MS	80	383	91.4 （140 ℃）	68.4 （283 ℃）	60.5 （424 ℃）	44.5 （600 ℃）
rGO@柴油⁃MS	124	389	95.6 （101 ℃）	55.2 （407 ℃）	29.4 （600 ℃）	— —

Tab.1. TGA characteristic parameters of MS， rGO⁃MS， diesel⁃MS， and rGO@diesel⁃MS under nitrogen atmosphere

Fig.7. （a） Compressive stress⁃strain diagram of modified MS at 10 %， 20 % and 40 % compressive strain；（b） Cyclic compressive stress⁃strain diagram of modified MS with 40 % compressive strain

Fig.8. （a） Saturated mass oil absorption capacity and saturated volume oil absorption capacity of modified MS to different oils or organic solvents；（b） Saturated mass oil absorption capacity of modified MS after multiple cycles of oil absorption

Fig.9. （a） Separation efficiency of modified MS for different oil⁃water mixtures；（b） Separation efficiency of modified MS after multiple cycles of oil⁃water separation

Fig.10. （a）~（d） Appearance of rGO @ Diesel MS after 5， 10， 15， and 20 times of deoiling；（e） Paper towel absorbs residual oil in sponge

Fig.11. （a）、（b） Comparison diagram before and after continuous oil⁃water separation of diesel/water mixture by modified MS；（c）、（d） Comparison chart of modified MS before and after continuous oil water separation of trichloromethane/water mixture

Fig.12. （a） and （b） Comparison diagram of continuous oil⁃water separation before and after diesel/water mixture mixing by modified MS；（c） and （d） Comparison diagram of modified MS before and after continuous oil⁃water separation under the stirring state of chloroform/water mixture

Fig.13. （a） Hydrophobicity of modified MS at different pH values；（b） Diesel oil in water with different pH values；（c） Separation process diagram of modified MS for water/diesel mixture；（d） Effect diagram of modified MS after separation of water/diesel mixture；（e） Chloroform at the bottom of water with different pH values；（f） Separation process diagram of modified MS for water/chloroform mixture；（g） Effect diagram of modified MS after separation of water/chloroform mixture

Fig.14. （a） Comparison diagram of n⁃hexane water lotion before separation；（b） Comparison diagram of n⁃hexane water lotion after separation；（c） Microscopy of n⁃hexane water lotion before separation；（d） Microscopy of n⁃hexane water lotion after separation

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