Multifunctional foams derived from poly(melamine formaldehyde) as recyclable oil absorbents

Owing to the severe environmental and ecological issues arising from oil spills and toxic chemical leakage, the separation of oil from water presents a worldwide challenge to save the endangered environment. A versatile absorbent which can deal with different types of oil contaminants is in high demanded for this issue. In this work, we obtain an ultratight, fire-resistant, and compressible foam (UFC foam) by pyrolysis and post hydrophobic-modified treatment using commercially available poly(melamine formaldehyde) foams as precursors. The present UFC foam not only effectively separates oils from water as expected, but also possesses a very high absorption capacity for the removal of oils from water up to 158 times its own weight. More importantly, due to its fire resistance and compressibility, distillation, combustion and squeezing, or a combination of these can be applied for recycling the foams depending on the type of pollutants, making them versatile and comprehensive absorbents to satisfy various practical separation requirements.