Oil/water interfaces of guar gum-based biopolymer hydrogels and application to their separation

• Published in: Carbohydrate polymers Vol. 169; pp. 9 - 15
• Main Authors: Dai, Lei, Wang, Baobin, An, Xingye, Zhang, Liqiang, Khan, Avik, Ni, Yonghao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.08.2017
• Subjects: adhesion; Biopolymer; biopolymers; Galactans - chemistry; Guar gum; Hydrogel; hydrogels; Hydrogels - chemistry; hydrophilicity; Mannans - chemistry; oil spills; Oil/water interface; Oils; Plant Gums - chemistry; Separation; stainless steel; wastewater treatment; Water; Oil/water interface; Separation; Hydrogel; Guar gum; Biopolymer
• ISSN: 0144-8617; 1879-1344; 1879-1344
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2017.03.096

•This paper describes an innovative biodegradable and biocompatible hydrogel material for oily waste water separation.•The as-prepared guar gum hydrogel-coated material showed high oil/water separation efficiency.•The resultant material has ultralow oil adhesion and it is easy to be recycled.•This work provides a fluoride-free and sustainable approach to realize the separation of highly-viscous oil from water. Oily wastewater treatment has become a significant research subject due to potential environmental related applications, e.g., oil spill remedy process. In this paper, a natural polymer based hydrogel, prepared from guar gum (GG) and metaborate, was coated onto a stainless steel mesh, and the as-prepared hydrogel-coated material was applied for oil/water separation. The strong hydrophilic GG hydrogel imparted excellent underwater oleophobicity and ultra-low oil adhesion. The results proved that the as-prepared GG hydrogel-coated material possessed excellent self-cleaning property and high oil/water separation efficiency