Recycling and reuse of flexible polyurethane foams from discarded mattresses for oil spill recovery in marine environments

During oil exploration, spills can cause significant environmental damage if not contained quickly. This study introduces an innovative solution that repurposes discarded polyurethane mattress foam for oil recovery from seawater, addressing two environmental issues simultaneously. The foams were enhanced through surface modifications with molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) to improve their selectivity for oil. Characterization tests confirmed notable advancements in water rejection and oil affinity, with MoS₂ particles adhering well to the foam surfaces. Sorption tests in a seawater-oil mixture (92%-8% v/v) showed a remarkable increase in the sorption of petroleum (1.6x), S46 lubricating (7.1x), and 20W40 engine oil (9.8x), maintaining efficiency after 50 cycles of saturation and desorption. Kinetic studies indicated that the foams reached saturation within 40 s, demonstrating their potential as a rapid remediation solution. The pseudo-second-order and logistic models effectively described the experimental data (R² > 0.98 and R² > 0.99, respectively). Additionally, dripping loss kinetics indicated low oil loss from saturated foams, with only 0.85%, 0.90%, 4.24%, and 7.62% losses for diesel, petroleum, S46 lubricating, and 20W40 engine oil, respectively, after 30 s of hanging.

Graphical abstract