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Article

Novel Collection Equipment Loaded with Superhydrophobic Sponge for Continuous Oil/Water Separation from Offshore Environments

by
Xi Yan
,
Yan Xie
,
Xuejia Sheng
,
Shucai Zhang
* and
Xiangning Song
State Key Laboratory of Safety and Control for Chemicals, SINOPEC Research Institute of Safety Engineering Co., Ltd., Qingdao 266100, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Coatings 2023, 13(3), 573; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13030573
Submission received: 31 January 2023 / Revised: 2 March 2023 / Accepted: 5 March 2023 / Published: 7 March 2023
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Superhydrophobic Surface: Functional Materials)
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Abstract

:
Currently, frequent oil spill accidents caused by transportation, storage, and usage may lead to extensive damage to marine ecosystems. Effective methods for oil spillage recovery from offshore environments are still urgently in demand. A superhydrophobic sponge (MS@PVC@SiO2) was obtained via a facile two-step method for rapid oil adsorption, and a piece of novel collection equipment loaded with MS@PVC@SiO2 was developed for in situ continuous oil/seawater separation. The results showed that MS@PVC@SiO2 exhibits excellent water repellence, compressibility, and durability. Furthermore, the obtained MS@PVC@SiO2 shows high diesel oil adsorption capacity (32 g/g), and excellent recyclability (up to 200 times). The collection equipment demonstrates highly selective oil adsorption capacity and good stability in real seawater. The maximum possible recovery capacity of collection equipment was 557.784 L/h with 98% efficiency, which was much higher than that of commercial disc oil collectors (119.8 L/h). The recovery performance was effectively improved by introducing MS@PVC@SiO2, due to its large specific area and enough storage space. Moreover, even after continuous operation for 58 h in seawater, the collection equipment remained at a high recovery capacity. The results indicate that both MS@PVC@SiO2 and the collection equipment have great application perspectives in practical marine oil spillage recovery.

1. Introduction

With the development of industrialization, there is an increasing demand for oils and organic chemicals. Oil spillage and chemical leak accidents occur frequently worldwide for offshore oil and gas production and transportation [1,2,3]. A typical example is the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which released an estimated 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the ocean, resulting in severe damage to marine life and coastal wetlands [4]. The 2018 gas condensate leak accident in the East China Sea was caused by a tanker collision. An estimated 58 square kilometers of condensate was released into the ocean, which had serious effects on the water quality and marine life in the area. The long-term effects of environmental pollution by such accidents remain a matter of major concern [5,6,7]. Oils, such as light diesel oil, have low viscosity, volatility, flammability, and complex forms of movement in water [8]. If no effective measures are taken immediately after spillage, secondary accidents, including explosions, fire, and poisoning may be caused [9]. Currently, several technologies have been developed to clean up oil spillage, including (i) mechanical collection (skimmers or booms), (ii) physical adsorption (adsorbents), (iii) in situ burning, (iv) chemical dispersants, (v) bioremediation [10,11,12,13,14]. However, poor efficiency, tedious operation process, and high energy consumption make them not the ideal way to realize practical oil/water separation [15,16]. Thus, it is imperative to develop effective methods or equipment for chemical recovery.
It should be noted that adsorbents and device combination oil recovery technology can play a key role in reducing the impact of oil spill accidents, as well as protecting the environment [17,18]. Physical adsorption [19,20,21] and mechanical collection [22,23] have demonstrated the potential for continuous oil/water separation. Adsorbents with superhydrophobic surfaces are the most attractive candidate for chemical adsorption [24,25]. However, traditional adsorbents experience various problems such as high materials cost, low oil sorption capacity, and unsatisfactory reusability [26]. Recently, three-dimensional (3D) porous adsorbents with special wettability, such as melamine sponge [27], polyurethane foam [28,29], carbon aerogels [30,31], and silicone sponges [32] have attracted attention due to their high porosity, selectivity, and absorption capacity [33,34]. Among them, commercialized melamine sponge (MS) with low cost, excellent absorption, hot stability, thermal insulation, and flame retarding properties, is highly desired, since it provides an industrial-scale, economically viable option [35,36,37]. Stolz et al. [38] synthesized a carbonized MS via a single-step pyrolysis treatment with temperatures of 500–600 without further chemical treatment for the clean-up of oil-polluted water. Li et al. [39] applied 2,2-azoisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as prepolymer, and divinylbenzene (DVB) as a monomer to obtain PDVB-PDMS coated superhydrophobic MS, which shows robust superhydrophobicity and high adsorption capability under harsh conditions. Lei et al. [29] fabricated a hydrophobic and catalytic MS via the solvothermal growth of hydrophobic ZIF-8 on its strut surface, which showed excellent oil/water separation performance. However, the carbonized MS usually has a low specific area with sacrificed mechanical properties, which failed to realize long-term stability. Hydrophobic modification of MS via polymerization or gelation normally needs toxic agents or expensive monomers, and sometimes complex preparation processes such as microwave treatment and UV irradiation are involved. By coating nanoparticles, the nanoparticles might peel off from MS in the long term. Thus, to meet the needs of continuous oil/water separation under harsh environments, preparation of economically viable, easy preparation, eco-friendly, robust mechanical properties, and long-term stability superhydrophobic MS is very desirable. When modified MS was used as absorbent, the separation process was non-continuous. Each absorption must be followed by desorption via squeezing or burning. In consequence, saturated adsorbents need to be collected by fishermen manually, which is time- and labor-consuming. Hence, it is difficult for adsorbents to achieve continuous oil/water separation in real-world applications. To solve this problem, the idea of designing a mechanical recovery device based on oil-sorbent materials came up, for continuous oil/water separation with high efficiency. At present, scholars have studied oil-collecting devices. For example, a vessel-type collector was constructed by superhydrophilic–underwater superoleophobic filtration adsorbents [40]. The floating oil can selectively penetrate through the vessel wall and then be collected in the vessel. In another case, an external pumping technique was introduced to realize the continuous collection of oil in situ from the water surface. The oil sorption capacity can be no longer limited to the volume and weight of the adsorbents. However, these technologies were still at the theoretical stage in the laboratory. In the future, the combination of adsorbents and devices might be the most promising technology for practical oil spillage recovery. To realize continuous oil/water separation by 3D porous absorbents in real oil spillage accidents, the novel idea of designing a mechanical recovery device based on oil-sorbent materials came up. For application in the real world, the superhydrophobic 3D porous absorbents must be low-cost, eco-friendly, have good elasticity, high stability, and are easy to prepare on a large-scale. In this work, commercialized MS was selected as a substrate for its excellent absorption, hot stability, thermal insulation, and flame retarding properties. To realize high oil selectivity adsorption, the commercially available inexpensive Poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) was applied to form a water-repellent polymer film, due to its intrinsic hydrophobicity and chemical stability. However, the polymer surface cannot meet the requirements of the superhydrophobicity. Modified SiO2 nanoparticles was added to create a rough structure on the hydrophobic polymer surface for superhydrophobic coating. Superhydrophobic modified MS was then fabricated by simply soaking MS in the silica-based polymer coating solution. The preparation process is easy and simple, which meets the needs of large-scale production. The modified MS shows an excellent oil selective adsorption performance toward corrosive liquids, including basic and acidic solutions. Additionally, the modified MS demonstrates good mechanical durability, even more than 200 cycles of absorption-desorption could not diminish the material’s superhydrophobicity. Based on the property of the modified MS, explosion-proof type collection equipment was invented by combining the superhydrophobic modified MS with a self-designed mechanical device, which realizes continuous oil/water separation from offshore environments. The collection equipment exhibits a high recovery capacity (557.784 L/h with 98% efficiency), which was much higher than that of commercial disc oil collectors (119.8 L/h). Importantly, the collection equipment also shows good stability even after continuous operation for 58 h in real seawater.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Materials

Melamine sponges (MS, density 0.018 g/cm3, porosity 95.5%, pore size 120–170 μm) were purchased from a local supermarket. Poly-vinyl chloride (PVC, K-value 59–55), hydrophobic SiO2 particles (R972), and 3-Aminopropyltriethoxy silane coupling agent (KH550) were received from Aladdin Reagent Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China). Ethanol (analytically pure) and tetrahydrofuran (THF, analytically pure) were obtained from Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China). Diesel oil (0#) was purchased from the Sinopec gas station. Seawater (density 11.6 × 103 g/cm3) was collected from Jiaozhou Bay. Deionized water was prepared by Exo-Pure Water Machine Exceed -Ba in a laboratory.

2.2. Fabrication of Superhydrophobic Sponge

Before use, MS were ultrasonically cleaned by pure ethanol and deionized water for at least 30 min each. In a typical experiment, PVC (1 g) was dissolved in THF (100 mL) [41], followed by the addition of R972 (0.5 g). The suspension was then stirred vigorously for 30 min. PVC (1 wt.%) dissolved in KH550 was then added dropwise under magnetic stirring. The drying melamine sponge was immersed into the mixture solution for 12 h. Finally, the superhydrophobic sponge (MS@PVC@SiO2) was dried at 60 °C. Schematic illustration for the fabrication of MS@PVC@SiO2 sponge was shown in Figure 1.

2.3. Characterization

The surface morphologies of MS and MS@PVC@SiO2 were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM, S4800, Tokyo, Japan). The contact angle measurement was acquired using a contact angle meter (OCA20, DataPhysics, Stuttgart, Germany) at room temperature (22 °C). The average value was determined by measuring five different positions. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR, NEXUS, Madison, America) was conducted to analyze the chemical compositions of samples. Instron 5967-E2 was applied to characterize the mechanical properties of the samples. The porosity of MS was measured in our laboratory. The pristine MS was first cut into cubes, then soaked in pure water. The sponge was then squeezed by several times to extrude air bubbles. The porosity was calculated as:
P = M 2 − M 1 V p
where M1 (g) and M2 (g) were the mass of MS before and after adsorption, respectively, p (g/cm3) represents the water density, and V is the sample volume.

2.4. Collection Equipment

An explosion-proof type of collection equipment based on MS@PVC@SiO2 was designed and made of 316 L. As shown in Figure 2, the collection equipment is composed of a machine frame, chemicals collecting unit, rotating disk coated with MS@PVC@SiO2, squeeze unit, and driving device. All the components are explosion-proof or anti-static. In the operation process, MS@PVC@SiO2 is on the rotating disk immediately and selectively adsorbs oils or water-insoluble organic solvents on the surface of the water. During rotation, oils adsorbed in MS@PVC@SiO2 were then squeezed out by the squeezing unit above. Then, the oils recovered will be collected and transported into the chemical collecting unit. Hence, the automated collection equipment can ensure the recyclability and recoverability of superhydrophobic sponges, which avoids labor and time-consuming oils-soaked adsorbents collection [42].

2.5. Adsorption Performance

The adsorption capacity (Q) of MS@PVC@SiO2 for diesel oil was measured. The MS@PVC@SiO2 were first put into diesel oil. After saturation, the weights of the sample before (M1) and after adsorption (M2) were measured. The adsorption capacity was calculated as:
Q g / g = M 2 − M 1 M 1
The cycling stability of MS@PVC@SiO2 in real seawater was evaluated by cyclic absorption-squeezing measurement. MS@PVC@SiO2 was compressed for 200 cycles. The mass of MS@PVC@SiO2 before and after adsorption was recorded and calculated by Equation (2).

2.6. Continuous Oil/Water Separation Performance

To study the maximum possible recovery capacity of collection equipment, experiments were conducted referring to the ASTM standard [43]. The chemical collector was placed into a test tank, which is three times the length and width of the chemical collector, and the recovery tank was placed by the waterside. During the process of experiments, the chemical collector must stay in the center of the test area and remain free-floating. The start thickness of diesel oil was approximately 75 mm, after operation for at least 30 s, then end experiments when the thickness approaches 50 mm. Each experiment was repeated three times.
The recovery capacity was calculated as follows:
N R R = V 0 t × 100 %
The recovery efficiency can be calculated by the following formula:
R E = V 0 V × 100 %
where V0 (mL) and V (mL) were the volumes of oils recovered and total liquid, respectively, and t (s) represents the elapsed time.
With floating and volatile characteristics, oils tend to spread rapidly on the water surface under the influence of wind or waves. Thus, the experiments under different diesel oil film thicknesses (0.1, 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 75 mm) were carried out to further evaluate the recovery performance of collection equipment.
To investigate continuous oil/water separation performance in real seawater, experiments were conducted at Sinopec Qingdao petrochemical co., LTD, with seawater directly pumped out from Jiaozhou Bay. The equipment was set to automatic mode with a rotating speed of 25 r/min. The diesel oil thickness shall be maintained at 50 mm, during the 7 days (56 h) of operation. The operation process was recorded, and the recovery capacity and efficiency were calculated by Equation (3), and Equation (4), respectively.

3. Results

3.1. Characterization

Figure 1 depicts the preparation process of the MS@PVC@SiO2 sponge. When the cleaned MS was fully immersed into a mixture solution, the skeleton of the MS wrapped the PVC layer with hydrophobic SiO2 microparticles. Upon drying, the “glue” PVC layer and the micro-particles were firmly adhered to the MS skeleton, resulting in the superhydrophobic MS@PVC@SiO2 sponge.
Figure 3 shows the microscopic morphology photo of MS and MS@PVC@SiO2. The image reveals the structure of MS to be a highly porous 3D intercrossed network (Figure 3a), hence being beneficial for oil adsorption. It shows the surface of MS is relatively smooth. After modification, MS@PVC@SiO2 maintained the 3D porous structure. However, the surface of MS@PVC@SiO2 became rough with a dense coating. Figure 3b shows the hydrophobic SiO2 nanoparticles unevenly located on the surface of the sponge skeleton, which increases the roughness of the surface. The randomly rough surface of MS@PVC@SiO2, due to the construction of micro/nano hierarchical structures, is beneficial to form super-hydrophobic surfaces. The observation demonstrated hydrophobic SiO2 nanoparticles can be firmly immobilized by PVC onto the skeleton surface of MS@PVC@SiO2.
The surface wettability of MS and MS@PVC@SiO2 was investigated by water contact angle (WCA) measurement at room temperature. The WCA of MS (Figure 4a) is 0° due to its intrinsic hydrophilic. Figure 4b shows the water droplets deposited on the surface of MS@PVC@SiO2 to form almost perfect spheres, with a WCA 149.8°. Moreover, the water droplets can be easily rolled off from the surface of MS@PVC@SiO2, indicating well water repellency. It can be inferred that the water–repelling film was successfully fabricated on the surface of MS@PVC@SiO2. This may be because the “glue” PVC layer and SiO2 microparticles were firmly adhered to the MS skeleton, which gives rise to a nano-scaled roughness that results in superhydrophobicity [44,45]. The temperature effect on WCA is a topic for future works.
To confirm the composition of MS@PVC@SiO2, FTIR spectra were conducted. Figure 5a shows strong characteristic peaks of MS at 3354, 1487, 1341, and 812 cm−1, which can be ascribed to N–H, C=N, and thiotriazinone vibration [46], respectively. The absorption bands at 1547 cm−1 can be attributed to O–H bending vibration. The peaks located at 1126 and 1033 cm−1 can be attributed to C–O–C stretching. In Figure 5b, compared to MS, the peaks located at 1487, 1341 and 812 cm−1 became less pronounced owing to the coating of PVC. The emergence of a new peak (1082 cm−1) assigning O–Si–O stretching indicated the coating of SiO2 particles on the surface of MS@PVC@SiO2 [47,48]. Moreover, the intensity of O–H stretching peaks at 1547 cm−1 was reduced significantly, implying less hydrophilic oxygen-containing groups on the surface of MS@PVC@SiO2.
The mechanical parameters of MS and MS@PVC@SiO2 are shown in Table 1. It can be inferred that the mechanical properties of MS@PVC@SiO2 have been improved effectively. MS@PVC@SiO2 exhibits satisfying mechanical properties such as high mechanical strength and high ductility. This may be because microcracks or plastic deformation can be formed with the existence of PVC/SiO2 agglomerates, which demonstrates high ductility.

3.2. Adsorption Performance

The selective sorption capacity of oil and water by MS and MS@PVC@SiO2 was studied. Table 2 shows that the oil adsorption capacity of MS@PVC@SiO2 was 32.05 g/g with 98.6% efficiency. While the solution absorbed by the pristine MS was mainly water with only 4.9% diesel oil contained. The adsorption capacity for oil of MS@PVC@SiO2 (32.05 g/g) was much higher than that of the pristine MS (2.45 g/g). In addition, the value is higher than most of the absorption capacities of other absorbent materials outlined in the literature (Table 3). Long-term durability against corrosive liquids is essential for adsorbents used in oil/water separation. To investigate the potential of MS@PVC@SiO2 for continuous oil/water separation, the oil adsorption capacity and recyclability under harsh conditions were examined. Figure 6 shows that the adsorption capacities of MS@PVC@SiO2 for diesel oil from water and real seawater were 32.05 and 31.45 g/g, respectively. In addition, the absorbed diesel oil in the MS@PVC@SiO2 matrix can be easily recovered by a simple squeezing method in real seawater. The diesel oil adsorption capacity of MS@PVC@SiO2 remained at 94.7% of its initial adsorption capacity in seawater even after 200 cycles. Moreover, after 200 cycles of absorption and desorption, the contact angle of MS@PVC@SiO2 was still in the range of 143°–147°. From Figure 6, the maximum oil adsorption capacity is typical in neutral water (PH = 7). The oil adsorption capacity decreases in water with a decrease in pH to 6. This may be attributed to the protonation of amine groups under acidic conditions [49,50]. The chains of amine groups changed from a dense state into a loose state, which leads to low diesel oil adsorption of MS@PVC@SiO2 from water. The oil adsorption capacity also decreases in seawater. This may be because amine groups chelated with metal ions in seawater, which causes low diesel oil adsorption of MS@PVC@SiO2 [51,52]. The excellent mechanical and environmental durability demonstrates the great potential of MS@PVC@SiO2 to achieve continuous oil/water separation in real-world applications, due to its high porosity, strong mechanical strength, and high elasticity [53].

3.3. Continuous Oil/Water Separation Performance

To apply MS@PVC@SiO2 in the field of continuous oil/water separation, the collection equipment was designed (Figure 2). The novel collection equipment can save the time- and labor-consuming process of adsorbent recovery and compression, and oil/water separation can be operated continuously and simultaneously. The maximum possible recovery capacities of the collection equipment at different operation speeds were studied. Figure 7 shows that the recovery capacity of this collection equipment (557.784 L/h) was much higher than that of the commercial disc oil collectors (119.8 L/h), which indicates that oil/water separation performance is improved after modification by MS@PVC@SiO2. This may be due to the fact that MS@PVC@SiO2 with a 3D porous structure provides large storage space for a chemical skimmer. The diesel oil recovery rate (NRR) of the collection equipment was comparable to the total recovery rate (TR). The recovery efficiency (RE) of the developed equipment can be reached as high as 98% under ideal conditions. This may be because MS@PVC@SiO2 can adsorb diesel oil selectively and continuously without adsorbing water, owing to its superhydrophobic characteristic and robust stability. The results suggest that the oils floated on the water surface can be collected by the equipment easily, rapidly, and continuously. As mentioned above, the combination of superhydrophobic 3D porous materials and an adapted device is therefore a promising solution for continuous oil/water separation in situ from the sea.
When the film thickness is low, most oils spilled on the sea spread so rapidly that slicks become fragmented. The encounter rate between traditional oil skimmers and oil slicks is invariably low even at low operating speeds. Thus, recovery of significant quantities of oils is impossible. Experiments under different diesel oil film thicknesses were carried out to evaluate recovery performance in practical oil/water separation situations. Figure 8 depicts that the NRR of the collection equipment (1.92 L/h) was higher than that of commercial disc oil collectors (0.648 L/h) even at 1 mm film thickness. The recovery efficiency of the collection equipment was better than commercial disc oil collector at any film thickness. This may be related to the spontaneous infiltration process of MS@PVC@SiO2. The superhydrophobic porous MS@PVC@SiO2 spontaneously and immediately inhales oils by capillary force [61], which prevents oils from spreading and concentrates oils during recovery. This indicates the combination of superhydrophobic 3D porous materials and an adapted device can overcome the basic limitation of traditional oil skimmer.
In a real oil spill scenario, operation stability is also one of the most significant targets for developed collection equipment. However, traditional oil skimmers so far developed have the limitation that they will not operate stably in anything but neutral and clean conditions. Figure 9 depicts the NRR of collection equipment under continuous operation in neutral and real seawater. It can be observed that the curves are existed basically as a straight line, implying the collection equipment loaded with MS@PVC@SiO2 remains at a high recovery capacity after running for 58 h. This can be attributed to the strong mechanical strength, high elasticity, and excellent reusability of developed MS@PVC@SiO2 [62]. The recovery capacity in water and seawater environments were almost the same. This may be attributed to the anti-corrosive coating of MS@PVC@SiO2 [63,64]. Thus, it can be inferred that the developed collection equipment has great potential to realize continuous oil/seawater separation in real-world applications.

4. Conclusions

In this work, silica-based polymer coating was prepared by a facile and simple method with commercially available inexpensive PVC and SiO2 nanoparticles. MS@PVC@SiO2 was successfully fabricated by simply soaking MS in the coating solution without using toxic and expensive agents. The MS@PVC@SiO2 showed hydrophobicity (WCA 149.8°) due to the adherence of hydrophobic modified SiO2 microparticles “glued” by intrinsic hydrophobicity PVC layer onto the surface of the pristine MS. It is very significant that the hydrophobicity of MS@PVC@SiO2 was well maintained in oil-water/seawater interface. The excellent water repellency of MS@PVC@SiO2 endows its oil adsorption capacity (32.05 g/g) and recyclability (at least 200 cycles). The present work provides a new type of MS for oil recovery in real oil spill scenarios. Inspired by an oil skimmer, the idea of loading a rotating disc with MS@PVC@SiO2 came up. The novel collection equipment loaded with MS@PVC@SiO2 was then developed for in situ rapid oil recovery. With the help of the invented equipment, the oil/water separation process can be operated continuously and saves the trouble of recovering absorbents. The collection equipment exhibits highly selective oil adsorption capacity (98%) and good stability in real seawater, which has great potential in marine oil spillage recovery and other water/oil separating systems.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, X.Y. and Y.X.; methodology, Y.X.; validation, X.Y. and X.S. (Xuejia Sheng); formal analysis, Y.X., X.S. (Xuejia Sheng) and X.S. (Xiangning Song); visualization, X.Y., X.S. (Xuejia Sheng); writing—original draft preparation, X.Y.; writing—review and editing, S.Z.; supervision, S.Z.; project administration, S.Z.; funding acquisition, S.Z. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by National Key Project of “Science and Technology Boosting Economy 2020.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

All the data are available within the manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Coatings 13 00573 g001 550
Figure 1. Schematic illustration for the fabrication of MS@PVC@SiO2 sponge.
Figure 1. Schematic illustration for the fabrication of MS@PVC@SiO2 sponge.
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Figure 2. Image of the chemical collector.
Figure 2. Image of the chemical collector.
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Figure 3. SEM images of (a) MS; (b) MS@PVC@SiO2.
Figure 3. SEM images of (a) MS; (b) MS@PVC@SiO2.
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Figure 4. The water contact angle of (a) MS; (b) MS@PVC@SiO2.
Figure 4. The water contact angle of (a) MS; (b) MS@PVC@SiO2.
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Figure 5. The FTIR spectra of (a) MS; (b) MS@PVC@SiO2.
Figure 5. The FTIR spectra of (a) MS; (b) MS@PVC@SiO2.
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Figure 6. Adsorption performance of MS@PVC@SiO2 for diesel oil from different water solutions.
Figure 6. Adsorption performance of MS@PVC@SiO2 for diesel oil from different water solutions.
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Figure 7. The maximum possible recovery capacity of the collection equipment.
Figure 7. The maximum possible recovery capacity of the collection equipment.
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Figure 8. Recovery capacity of the collection equipment under different diesel film thicknesses.
Figure 8. Recovery capacity of the collection equipment under different diesel film thicknesses.
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Figure 9. The operation stability of collection equipment under 58 h continuous operation.
Figure 9. The operation stability of collection equipment under 58 h continuous operation.
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Table
Table 1. Mechanical properties of the sponge samples.
Table 1. Mechanical properties of the sponge samples.
SamplesWidth/mmThickness/mmMaximum Load/NPressure/N·mm−2Width/mm
MS20.0021.0054.750.130115.23
MS@PVC@SiO220.0021.0057.210.136118.02
Table
Table 2. The selective sorption capacity of oil and water by MS and MS@PVC@SiO2.
Table 2. The selective sorption capacity of oil and water by MS and MS@PVC@SiO2.
SamplesOil Adsorption Capacity (g/g)Water Adsorption Capacity (g/g)Solutions
MS2.45 56.67Neutral water
MS@PVC@SiO232.05 0.43Neutral water
31.450.56Sea water
30.750.59Basic solution
24.015.4Acidic solution
Table
Table 3. Summary of the adsorption capacities of oils by various sponge-based adsorbents.
Table 3. Summary of the adsorption capacities of oils by various sponge-based adsorbents.
Sorbent MaterialsTargetsAdsorption Capacity (g/g)CycleReferences
K-MSDiesel oil7630[54]
Octadecyltrichlorosilane modified MSMethylsilicone oil4350[55]
MS@PVC@SiO2Diesel oil32.05200This work
NDs-fPDA coated PU spongeDiesel oil31.210[56]
SA-coated PU spongeDiesel oil22100[57]
Polypyrrole and palmitic acid-coated PU spongeEngine oil2110[58]
Poly(dimethylsiloxane) sponge with sugar Motor oil520[59]
Poly(dimethylsiloxane) sponge with NaClDiesel oil4.810[60]
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Yan, X.; Xie, Y.; Sheng, X.; Zhang, S.; Song, X. Novel Collection Equipment Loaded with Superhydrophobic Sponge for Continuous Oil/Water Separation from Offshore Environments. Coatings 2023, 13, 573. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13030573

AMA Style

Yan X, Xie Y, Sheng X, Zhang S, Song X. Novel Collection Equipment Loaded with Superhydrophobic Sponge for Continuous Oil/Water Separation from Offshore Environments. Coatings. 2023; 13(3):573. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13030573

Chicago/Turabian Style

Yan, Xi, Yan Xie, Xuejia Sheng, Shucai Zhang, and Xiangning Song. 2023. "Novel Collection Equipment Loaded with Superhydrophobic Sponge for Continuous Oil/Water Separation from Offshore Environments" Coatings 13, no. 3: 573. https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings13030573

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