Scalable Superhydrophobic CB/PVFM Sponge for Enhanced Cleanup of Crude Oil Exploiting Photothermal and Electrothermal Effects
Yunpeng Liu, Sijie Cheng, Shree Kesavan Kannan, Panpan Zhang, Rajaram S. Sutar, Bairu Shi, Shanhu Liu
Abstract
Heavy oil spill recovery is a global challenge because of its high viscosity and low fluidity. Herein, we demonstrated a method to develop a solar and Joule heating superhydrophobic carbon black/polyvinyl formal sponge (S-CB/PVFM) for cleanup of highly viscous crude oil. At an optimal amount of CB (200%) in polyvinyl formal, S-CB/PVFM revealed a highly porous sponge-like structure. The as-prepared sponge can effortlessly separate light and heavy oils from an oil–water mixture. The surface temperature of S-200% CB/PVFM increased to 77 °C under exposure to 1 kW m –2 of light intensity and 154 °C by applying a voltage of 12 V, causing the viscosity of the crude oil to decrease and allowing it to be absorbed quickly. In the continuous crude oil cleaning process, the as-prepared sponge revealed a crude oil collection rate of 0.600 g/min and 4.954 g/min under photothermal and electrothermal heating, respectively. The results indicate that this approach can effectively reduce viscosity and recover crude oil in unfavorable weather conditions. Using cost-effective CB and advanced PVFM technology, we have created a large-scale sample (18 cm diameter) to cleanup oil spills in vast areas, providing hope for a cleaner and more sustainable future.