Bagher Eftekhari-Sis

Abstract: Oil pollution, created during extraction, transportation and storage of oil, is one of the most important biological attacks, which affects the life of marine species and sea grasses. So, in order to prevent the diffusion of oil pollution into a larger area, development of new and cheap aproaches for the fast removal of oil pollution is of interest. Various methods, such as in situ burning, mechanical collection, chemical dispersants, bioremediation and absorption, were reported for oil spill cleanup. In this study, an Fe-carbon (Fe/C) composite coated on polyurethane sponge was developed as a superhydrophobic absorbent for water-oil cleanup. Prepared Fe/C composite is a low cost and easily obtained by hydrothermal carbonization of egg yolk biomass in the presence of different iron precursors. The Fe/C-sponge has been developed by a simple dip-coating method. The prepared Fe/C-sponge exhibited an absorption capacity of 28-87 times its own weight for different organic solvents and oils. It can be also recycled and reused for 6 runs without decreasing in absorption capacity. The results revealed that the Fe/C-sponge is a promising selective material for use in environmental remediation to remove oils from water. So, this strategy is an efficient method to developed inexpensive and recyclable absorbent for oil-water cleanup. Schematic representation of the synthesis of Fe/C composite, and application of Fe/C-sponge in the oil cleanup (for example toluene (a) and DCM (b)) is shown in figure.