Tailored electrospun fibers from waste polystyrene for high oil adsorption

Abstract

Recent ship accidents that resulted catastrophic oil spills necessitate producing environmentally friendly, costeffective, and large-scale fabrication technology for oil-sorbent materials. Various material systems have been employed to fabricate sorbent materials; however, using fresh material components as adsorbent can lead to a secondary pollution. Therefore, recycling of plastics wastes for the fabrication of adsorbent material could be a wise approach to handle this environmental issue. In this study, foam-expanded polystyrene (f-PS), a commodity polymer used for insulation and packing materials, was electrospun from solution mixture of THF and DMF. Surface and interior porosity were achieved from individual fibers electrospun froma composition of DMF: THF (1:3) at 20-wt% of solid f-PS content. The resulting adsorbents exhibited a considerable hydrophobicity (WCA approximate to 120 degrees) and oleophilicity (CA approximate to 10 degrees), which can selectively adsorb both vegetable and engine oils from polluted waters. The porosity of the fibers has significant effect on the sorption capacity and separation efficiency up to 124 g/g and 99%, respectively. Thus, electrospun mats of the polystyrene wastes offer a promising adsorbent for the remediation of oily wastewaters. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.