Highly Hydrophobic Polydimethylsiloxane-Coated Expanded Vermiculite Sorbents for Selective Oil Removal from Water.

ABSTRACT: Naturally abundant vermiculite clay was expanded by using an aqueous solution of H₂O₂ and its surface was modified with ultra-thin polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) using facile thermal vapor deposition to prepare an ecologically friendly, low-cost oil sorbent that plays an important role in oil spillage remediation. The resulting PDMS-coated expanded vermiculite (eVMT@PDMS) particles exhibited adequate hydrophobicity and oleophilicity for oil/water separation, with numerous conical slit pores (a size of 0.1-100 ?m) providing a great sorption capacity and an efficient capillarity-driven flow pathway for oil collection. Simply with using a physically-packed eVMT@PDMS tube (or pouch), selective oil removals were demonstrated above and beneath the surface of the water. Furthermore, these sorbents were successfully integrated and then applied to the advanced oil-collecting devices such as a barrel-shaped oil skimmer and a self-primed oil pump.

SUBMITTER: Nguyen DC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7912906 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature