Fabrication of Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Sites on Polypropylene Nonwoven for Oil Spill Cleanup: Two Dilemmas Affecting Oil Sorption

Abstract

This article mainly deals with the following dilemmas, which affect oil sorption and sorbent preparation: (1) hydrophobization could facilitate oil sorption but has adverse impacts on emulsion sorption; (2) micropores of conventional oil sorbent do not exhibit effective emulsion sorption. To solve the above contradictions, hydrophilic and hydrophobic sites were fabricated onto polypropylene (PP) nonwoven through electron beam radiation and subsequent ring-opening reaction. Further, a similar structure without a hydrophilic site was constructed as comparison to verify the dilemmas. An oil sorption and emulsion adsorption experiment revealed that the PP nonwoven with specific hydrophilic and hydrophobic sites is more suitable for oil cleanup. The hydrophobic site preserved its hydrophobicity and sorption capacity, and the hydrophilic site on PP surface effectively increased the affinity between the hydrophilic interface of emulsion and sorbent. The overlapped and intertwined structures could provide spaces large enough to accommodate oil and emulsion. In addition, the oil and emulsion sorption behaviors were systematically analyzed. The PP nonwoven fabricated in this study may find practical application in the cleanup of oil spills and the removal of organic pollutants from water surfaces.

Oil Sorbents based on Methacrylic Acid - Grafted Polypropylene Fibers: Synthesis and Characterization

“…The initial increase is maybe due to the availability of free radicals generated for grafting reaction. When the initiator concentration rises above a certain value, increased free radical concentration results in a homopolymerization which diminishes the graft copolymerization [23,47]. This result can be attributed to the fact that free radical generation process will increase with increasing levels of AIBN, which enhances the grafting degrees.…”

“…However, it still remains challenges to water-oil separation, eco-friendly ways of oil removing, free-floating oil skimmers as well as environmental concerns. In order to improve the oil sorption performance of virgin PP fiber, many modifications have been studied but graft polymerization is one the most effective methods to ameliorate its chemical properties and sorbent surface [22,23]. Some monomer such as butyl acrylate [19,[24][25][26], lauryl methacrylate [27,28] have been successfully grafted.…”

Biodegradable porous organosilicone‐modified collagen fiber matrix: Synthesis and high oil absorbency

“…Among existing technologies, absorption by oil sorbent materials is considered to be one of the more economical and effective way of cleaning up floating oil from contaminated waters . Compared with the most common synthetic oil sorbent materials such as polypropylene fiber, polydimethylsiloxane sponge, and electrospun fiber, natural organic fibers (e.g., protein fiber and plant fiber) have increasingly attracted attention as oil sorbents because of their low cost, acceptable oil sorption performance, and biodegradability …”

Synthesis and performance of different polyurethane foams as oil sorbents

“…The adsorption method is attractive due to its sorption efficiency and the possibility for collecting and reuse the adsorbed products. In this context, several studies have shown the removal of oil from water using adsorbent materials, such as sugarcane bagasse, vegetables fibers, raw cotton, poly(tetrahydrofuran), polypropylene, and polyurethane foams …”