In this research, the researchers study the fabrication of oil absorption, hydrophobic polyurethane (PU) sponge for application in an oil-spill cleanup model. Virgin PU is initially hydrophilic. PU is made hydrophobic by incorporating hydrophobic silica aerogel (SA) into PU 3D porous structure by stirring method and UV-treatment method. UV-irradiation promotes the attachment of SA onto the PU surface. Varying UV irradiation time and concentration of SA is done to attain an optimal attachment of SA on PU. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle measurements (CA) are used to determine the adhesion of SA on PU. The loadings of SA with and without UV-treatment are compared. Results show that SA-PU with UV-treatment has more loading of SA than SA-PU without treatment. FT-IR spectra and SEM micrographs verify the results. Moreover, the SA-PU is tested for oil absorption to simulate oil-spill cleanup. The findings show fast (less than 3 seconds), recoverable oil-spills cleanup with simple method of preparation. In addition, SA-PU with UV treatment has higher absorption rate and %absorption efficiency when compared to original PU and SA-PU without UV treatment.
Graphene oxide-loaded shortening (GOS), an environmentally friendly heat transfer fluid with high thermal conductivity, was successfully prepared by mixing graphene oxide (GO) with a shortening. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that GO particles, prepared by the modified Hummer?s method, dispersed well in the shortening. In addition, the latent heat of GOS decreased while their viscosity and thermal conductivity increased with increasing the amount of loaded GO. The thermal conductivity of the GOS with 4% GO was higher than that of pure shortening of ca. three times, from 0.1751 to 0.6022 W/mK, and increased with increasing temperature. The GOS started to be degraded at ca. 360?C. After being heated and cooled at 100?C for 100 cycles, its viscosity slightly decreased and no chemical degradation was observed. Therefore, the prepared GOS is potentially used as environmentally friendly heat transfer fluid at high temperature.
Silica aerogel-based thermal insulation coating (SA-coating) was prepared from a commercial acrylic binder. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the effectiveness of SA-coating with the application in energy-efficient home design for temperature insulation purposes. The weather acceleration test and thermal insulation property of SA-coating were investigated and compared to the original commercial binder. The weather acceleration test of SA-coating showed equivalent weathering stability and robustness compared to the original binder. The thermal insulation property was performed from an in-lab setup, called temperature difference (TD) measurement. In a closed chamber, without air circulation, the surface temperature with SA-coating was reduced by as much as 26 degrees from 90°C to ∼64°C. More so, if TD measurement was performed in a ventilated area, the temperature can be reduced from 50°C to 36°C (room temperature was 31 °C). The thermal conductivity of the coating at different temperatures was also measured. The water contact angle measurements and the scanning electron micrographs showed that SA-coating can be made hydrophilic to hydrophobic by simple abrasion.
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