Effect of grafted polyurethane on oil spill remediation in the aquatic environment

Abstract

The aquatic environment may be seriously harmed when cargo gases, diesel, and their compounds leak or are accidentally spilled onto the water's surface. Oil exploration also leads to water contamination. The remaining oil coats the water's surface, resulting in the formation of a thin emulsion of water and oil. Three novel compounds with long chains of linear alkyl groups were grafted to flexible polyurethane (R-FPU) to clean up oil spills. The sorption testing was thoroughly examined and contrasted with the aid of crude oil, diesel fuel, and water-oil systems. It was found that as compared to ungrafted FPU, the chemical sorption of crude oil and diesel fuel was boosted by modified FPU cubes, while water sorption was reduced by roughly 57%. The sorption competence of the modified FPU was highly correlated with the length of the alkyl chain, with the longer alkyl chain significantly increasing sorption capacity. The results demonstrate that oil may be successfully cleaned using modified FPU cubes.