Issue 55, 2017

Polythiophene functionalized hydrophobic cellulose kitchen wipe sponge and cellulose fabric for effective oil–water separation

Abstract

Development of efficient materials for the separation of oils/organic solvents from water is of prime ecological importance as their negative impact on the aquatic environment is huge. In the present work, for the first time we report the utilization of biodegradable cellulose kitchen wipe sponge as a base material for the oil sorption and cellulose fabric as a filter for the filtration of oil, after functionalization with polythiophene. The water contact angles of the modified cellulose sponge and modified cellulose fabric being 126.6° and 151.6°, respectively substantiate the hydrophobic nature of the materials post modification. Oil absorption kinetic studies show a very rapid saturation period (90 min) for the modified cellulose sponge with a maximum absorption capacity of 7.5 g g−1. By a simple mechanical squeezing process, the absorbed oil/organic solvent is recycled. The sponge is reused for 5 cycles with 70% retention in the initial absorption efficiency. On the other hand, the modified cellulose fabric is used as a continuous filter for a quick separation of oil (and organic solvents) from water. The oil sorbents reported make use of readily available and economically viable base materials with a simple modification which may allow their use for the removal of oil on large scales.

Graphical abstract: Polythiophene functionalized hydrophobic cellulose kitchen wipe sponge and cellulose fabric for effective oil–water separation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
17 May 2017
Accepted
06 Jul 2017
First published
12 Jul 2017
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2017,7, 34866-34874

Polythiophene functionalized hydrophobic cellulose kitchen wipe sponge and cellulose fabric for effective oil–water separation

N. Durgadevi and V. Swarnalatha, RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 34866 DOI: 10.1039/C7RA05578A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements