Facile fabrication of eco-friendly polycaprolactone (PCL)/Poly-D, L-Lactic acid (PDLLA) modified melamine sorbent for oil-spill cleaning and water/oil (W/O) emulsion separation

• Published in: Separation and purification technology Vol. 259; p. 118081
• Main Authors: Arunagiri, Vinothini, Prasannan, Adhimoorthy, Udomsin, Jittrakorn, Lai, Juin-Yih, Wang, Chih-Feng, Hong, Po-Da, Tsai, Hsieh Chih
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 15-03-2021
• Subjects: L-Lactic acid (PDLLA); Melamine; Oil sorbents; Poly-D; Polycaprolactone (PCL); Separation; Poly-D; Oil sorbents; Separation; Polycaprolactone (PCL); L-Lactic acid (PDLLA); Melamine
• ISSN: 1383-5866; 1873-3794
• DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2020.118081

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•Interconnected porous structure developed with PCL/PDLLA-coated melamine.•PCL/PDLLA melamine sorbents exhibited super-hydrophobic and -oleophilic wettability.•PCL/PDLLA melamine sorbents are characterized by good physicochemical stability.•PCL/PDLLA melamine sorbents displayed high viscous oil absorption.•They also exhibited 99.99% pure oil rejection from W/O emulsion under gravity.
Accidental crude oil spillages immensely impact the biological functions of living organisms in ocean waters such as respiration, feeding, and thermoregulation. Recent studies have highlighted compostable hydrophobic polymeric oil sorbents as requisite resources for oil-spill cleaning, owing to the release of non-toxic degrading elements in the water. Hence, we investigated the applications in oil-spill cleaning of a modified commercially manufactured 3D porous melamine sponge obtained via dip-coating a pore-filling eco-friendly polymer composite (PCL/PDLLA), using an inexpensive freeze-drying technique. The FE-SEM morphology analysis of the PCL/PDLLA fabricated melamine sorbent blend displayed an emergent interconnected porous structure, along with an improved hydrophobicity of 162°(WCA) & 180°(UOWCA) with super-oleophilic wettability, as indicated by water angle analysis. Furthermore, physicochemical interactions through Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman mapping, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), tensile test with 92% elongation were confirmed between the melamine sponge and PCL/PDLLA composite. Our PCL/PDLLA modified melamine sorbent exhibited oil absorption capacity ranges of 3.3∼8.7 g/g to disparate viscous oils (n-hexane, n-octane, soybean oil, crude oil, motor oil), while possessing a 99.99% oil purity with an approximate 560.737 Lm-2h−1 flux for W/O emulsion separation under gravity. In conclusion, we highlight the capabilities of eco-friendly PCL/PDLLA (80:20) modified melamine as trade off in oil-spill cleaning sorbent along and oil separator from W/O emulsion, with appropriate physicochemical stability and reusability.