Modeling of the sorption of crude oil on a polyurethane foam-powdered activated carbon composite

In an adsorption process, spontaneous accumulation of molecules takes place at the surface of solids as compared to the bulk phase. Adsorption is used for the recovery of undesirable components from a liquid mixture by establishing van der Waals bonds between the solid surface and the attracted components. Nowadays, adsorption is recognized as one of the major significant separation processes amid the physical, biological, and chemical processes. Activated carbon adsorption has been widely used for the purification of water and wastewater and for the treatment of numerous environmental problems. In this work, polyurethane (PU) foam-activated carbon composites were synthesized and characterized. The mixing of a number of well-defined ingredients produces flexible foam of alveolar structure after polymerization reactions. The prepared PU-powdered activated carbon composites were used to investigate the sorption of raw crude oil. Multiple experimental manipulations were combined to understand this behavior. The application of a design of experiments (DOE) method was used to model the adsorption kinetics.