Impregnation of Activated Carbon in Polyurethane Foam for Enhanced Solvent and Oil Adsorption from Water

Abstract

This study illustrates the modification of the Poly-Urethane Foam (PUF) prepared from the Tung Oil (TO) and later impregnating it with varying ratio (~ 1 to 5 w/w%) of Activated Carbon (AC) which enable this modified entity to act as an effective adsorbent for the solvent and oil removal from the water. After its modification, it was found that the PUF impregnated with 5 w/w% AC displayed an enhanced solvent and oil adsorption capacity. The reusability of the adsorbent was observed to decrease with increasing number of cycles. Furthermore, the adsorption conduct was calculated in a batch-type process and validated using equilibrium and kinetics study. Here, the surface-modified PUF sorbent was characterized employing Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Contact Angle (CA) wettability study. Our findings inferred that with increasing AC ratio in the foam, its pore size and CA increases thereby enhancing the adsorption capacity making this proposed study to be more expedient for sustainable environment safety.

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“…The open-cell content was increased by approximately 13% compared to PU with a recorded average rate of 88%. The findings are consistent with similar research, 28,37,38 which also suggests that increase in open-cell content can lead to an increase in adsorption capacity by providing a more extensive surface area for adsorption. Furthermore, the analysis has also revealed a significant increase in the surface roughness of PUAC with the addition of AC particles.…”