Barrel-Shaped Oil Skimmer Designed for Collection of Oil from Spills

Superhydrophobic-superoleophilic (SS) materials have the prospect to be used in oil-spill cleanup as treated felts because of their complete oil-absorbing and water-repelling properties. The main issues affecting the practical application of the SS materials are the low volume-based absorption capacity (resulting in a high cost), the requirement for mechanical handling (squeeze out the oil) for recycling, and low storage stability of the collected oil. In this study, a barrel-shaped oil skimmer mainly composed of an SS Cu foam and a glass barrel is developed as a potential step-change device to enable separation of oil and water. The SS Cu active component is fabricated by chemical etching and stearic acid modification. The demonstrator oil skimmer quickly and selectively absorbs and collects a variety of oils from a polluted water surface, showing a high separation efficiency and volume-based absorption capacity. The device can be easily scaled up. In addition to the high absorption capacity, the as-prepared oil skimmer filters and collects the floating oil into the barrel, removing the traditional mechanical handling. Moreover, the as-prepared oil skimmer also shows good storage stability; no oil escapes from the skimmer under harsh conditions. The findings presented in this study facilitate a novel, simple, and low-cost approach for oil-spill cleanup.