{"title":"Preparation and properties of photothermal superhydrophobic melamine sponge for heavy oil absorption","authors":"Luyao Wei , Tao Wu , Yujiang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.jece.2025.116195","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Frequent oil spills lead to significant environmental issues and economic losses. In this work, a photothermal superhydrophobic melamine sponge (OPCM) was prepared with carbon black, polydopamine and octadecylamine for absorbing heavy oil. The surface properties, morphology and structure of OPCM were characterized by various characteristic techniques, including interfacial tensiometer, infrared thermography, SEM, FT-IR and XPS. Experimental results showed that the water contact angle of OPCM increased from 0° to 152.6°, signifying a change in wettability from superhydrophilicity to superhydrophobicity. And the surface temperature of OPCM rose rapidly from 25°C to 76.2°C within 1 min under the simulated sunlight irradiation of 1.0 kW/m<sup>2</sup>. Furthermore, three kinds of heavy oils with viscosities of 44204 mPa·s, 9373 mPa·s, and 3671 mPa·s were selected for the absorption test. The test indicated that the maximum absorption capacities of OPCM for these oils were 126 g oil/g OPCM, 117 g oil/g OPCM, and 114 g oil/g OPCM, respectively. At the same time, from the perspective of circular economy, after 11 cycles of oil absorption, the absorption capacities of OPCM remained at 107 g oil/g OPCM, 102 g oil/g OPCM, and 100 g oil/g OPCM. Because of the photothermal conversion property and thermal conductivity of OPCM, the viscosity of heavy oil decreased and the fluidity increased. Additionally, the capillary force and hydrophobic interaction improved the absorption efficiency of OPCM for heavy oil. The sponges OPCM are potentially useful for in addressing oil spills and environmental issues during crude oil production and transportation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15759,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering","volume":"13 3","pages":"Article 116195"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213343725008917","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Frequent oil spills lead to significant environmental issues and economic losses. In this work, a photothermal superhydrophobic melamine sponge (OPCM) was prepared with carbon black, polydopamine and octadecylamine for absorbing heavy oil. The surface properties, morphology and structure of OPCM were characterized by various characteristic techniques, including interfacial tensiometer, infrared thermography, SEM, FT-IR and XPS. Experimental results showed that the water contact angle of OPCM increased from 0° to 152.6°, signifying a change in wettability from superhydrophilicity to superhydrophobicity. And the surface temperature of OPCM rose rapidly from 25°C to 76.2°C within 1 min under the simulated sunlight irradiation of 1.0 kW/m2. Furthermore, three kinds of heavy oils with viscosities of 44204 mPa·s, 9373 mPa·s, and 3671 mPa·s were selected for the absorption test. The test indicated that the maximum absorption capacities of OPCM for these oils were 126 g oil/g OPCM, 117 g oil/g OPCM, and 114 g oil/g OPCM, respectively. At the same time, from the perspective of circular economy, after 11 cycles of oil absorption, the absorption capacities of OPCM remained at 107 g oil/g OPCM, 102 g oil/g OPCM, and 100 g oil/g OPCM. Because of the photothermal conversion property and thermal conductivity of OPCM, the viscosity of heavy oil decreased and the fluidity increased. Additionally, the capillary force and hydrophobic interaction improved the absorption efficiency of OPCM for heavy oil. The sponges OPCM are potentially useful for in addressing oil spills and environmental issues during crude oil production and transportation.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering (JECE) serves as a platform for the dissemination of original and innovative research focusing on the advancement of environmentally-friendly, sustainable technologies. JECE emphasizes the transition towards a carbon-neutral circular economy and a self-sufficient bio-based economy. Topics covered include soil, water, wastewater, and air decontamination; pollution monitoring, prevention, and control; advanced analytics, sensors, impact and risk assessment methodologies in environmental chemical engineering; resource recovery (water, nutrients, materials, energy); industrial ecology; valorization of waste streams; waste management (including e-waste); climate-water-energy-food nexus; novel materials for environmental, chemical, and energy applications; sustainability and environmental safety; water digitalization, water data science, and machine learning; process integration and intensification; recent developments in green chemistry for synthesis, catalysis, and energy; and original research on contaminants of emerging concern, persistent chemicals, and priority substances, including microplastics, nanoplastics, nanomaterials, micropollutants, antimicrobial resistance genes, and emerging pathogens (viruses, bacteria, parasites) of environmental significance.