Synthesis and application of modified commercial sponges for oil-water separation

• Published in: Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996) Vol. 373; pp. 213 - 226
• Main Authors: Peng, Min, Zhu, Yuan, Li, Hui, He, Kai, Zeng, Guangming, Chen, Anwei, Huang, Zhenzhen, Huang, Tiantian, Yuan, Lei, Chen, Guiqiu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.10.2019
• Subjects: Application; Modification; Modified melamine sponge; Oil spill; Oil-water separation; Polyurethane sponge; Oil spill; Oil-water separation; Modification; Modified melamine sponge; Application; Polyurethane sponge
• ISSN: 1385-8947; 1873-3212
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2019.05.013

[Display omitted] •The recent advances related to the materials used for sponge modification.•A discussion of methods for the modification of hydrophilic sponges.•Desirable properties of modified hydrophobic sponges are highlighted.•Challenges and outlooks in constructing high performance hydrophobic sponges. Oil adsorption sponges have attracted great attention in the field of oil-water mixture treatment, due to their low cost, high porosity, flexible design, and three dimensional skeleton structures. However, the hydrophilic-oleophilic of commercial sponge limits its application for oil-water treatment. To improve the adsorption performance and simplify the oil recovery process, various modification methods have been studied recently. Herein, we discuss the fabrication of hydrophobic/oleophilic sponges and summarize the recently reported modify materials onto sponges. Furthermore, some additional material properties are also presented, which make sponges superior capacity for addressing oil spills under extreme conditions. In addition, some oil collecting devices based on sponges, which are used to facilitate the oil collecting processes, are also shown. Meanwhile, the outlooks and challenges are also offered for future applications of sponges in the remediation of oil spill.