Fabrication and characteristic of 3‐D porous thermoplastic polyurethane/deacetylated cellulose acetate composite foam with outstanding mechanical property and oil/water separation performance

Abstract

Nowadays, the environmental problems caused by industrial oily wastewater and offshore oil leakage are becoming more and more serious. Here, the 3-D porous polyurethane/deacetylated acetate cellulose (TPU/d-CA) composite foam with outstanding mechanical property and oil/water separation performance was successfully prepared. The morphology, wettability, mechanical properties, and oil/water separation performances had been systematically studied. The results showed that TPU/d-CA composite foam could be used as water and oil removing material, respectively, for a series of oil/water mixture only under gravity force, due to its lipophilicity and hydrophilicity. It has highseparation flux, which can reach up to 43,000 L/m 2 Áh and 85,000 L/m 2 Áh for water and oil, respectively and all the separation efficiency exceeds 98%. It also can be used as adsorbent material to absorb various oils, and the absorption capacity for carbon tetrachloride reached up to 34 g/g. Moreover, it can selectively, rapidly, and continuously separate oil or water by assisted peristaltic pump. After 15 cycle times, its separation efficiency is still as high as 98%. It has excellent comprehensive mechanical properties and antifouling ability. These results indicated that 3-D TPU/d-CA composite foam has broadly application prospects in oil/water separation field. K E Y W O R D S3-D porous composite foam, deacetylated cellulose acetate, mechanical property, oil/water separation, polyurethane

Recent Advances of Polyurethane Composite Foam Materials in Oil/Water Separation Applications

“…Impressively, the oil/water separation efficiency could be higher than 98.7%. Cui et al prepared the 3D porous TPU/deacetylated acetate cellulose (TPU/d-CA) composite foam 91 by combining vacuum casting, particle leaching, and thermally induced phase separation methods. The as-fabricated TPU/d-CA composite foam displayed superamphipathicity in air, oleophobicity under water, and superhydrophilicity under oil expressing great prospects in oil/ water separation.…”

Fabrication and characterization of porous deacetylated cellulose acetate casting membrane with excellent oil/water separation performance

“…serious crude oil spill occurred on the southern coast of California, USA, posing a serious threat to the local ecology. 5 At the same time, the discharge of oily sewage from the plant (containing toluene, n-hexane, and benzene, petroleum ether, and so forth) also is a continuing threat to the environment. 6,7 How to effectively dispose of oily wastewater is a growing concern.…”