Preparation of highly interconnected porous polymer microbeads via suspension polymerization of high internal phase emulsions for fast removal of oil spillage from aqueous environments

In this paper, we report on the fabrication of highly interconnected porous poly(butyl acrylate-co-stearyl methacrylate-co-styrene-co-divinylbenzene) (P(BA-SMA-St-DVB)) monoliths and microbeads via the polymerization of high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) and double emulsions by using a 75% to 85% internal water phase. The morphology and specific surface area were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements, respectively. The oil absorbency, including oil absorption, oil absorption rate and oil retention ratio of as-prepared resins (both monoliths and microbeads), was studied by using kerosene and carbon tetrachloride as analogues of oil pollutants. Thermoanalysis was also carried out to analyze the oil absorption mechanism. The results showed that the resin had a good oil absorption efficiency of aliphatic hydrocarbon and chlorohydrocarbon. The best mass-based absorption capacity of the microbeads towards kerosene and carbon tetrachloride is 8.52 and 20.82 times its own weight, respectively, which is higher than those of the corresponding polyHIPE monoliths. Meanwhile, these microbeads of average 320 microns in diameter have good thermal stability and can be easily collected and recycled by a simple filtration washing method.