Wax-wetting sponges for oil droplets recovery from frigid waters

Energy-efficient recovery of oil droplets from ice-cold water, such as oil sands tailings, marine, and arctic oil spills, is challenging. In particular, due to paraffin wax crystallization at low temperatures, the crude oil exhibits high viscosity, making it difficult to collect using simple solutions like sponges. Here, we report a wax-wetting sponge designed by conforming to the thermoresponsive microstructure of crude oil droplets. To address paraffin wax crystallization, we designed the sponge by coating a polyester polyurethane substrate with nanosilicon functionalized with paraffin-like octadecyl ligands. The wax-wetting sponge can adsorb oil droplets from wastewater between 5 degrees and 40 degrees C with 90 to 99% removal efficacy for 10 cycles. Also, upon rinsing with heptol, the adsorbed oil is released within seconds. The proposed approach of sponges designed to conform with the temperature-dependent microstructure of the crude oils could enable cold water technologies and improve circular economy metrics in the oil industry.

Automated summary

A wax-wetting sponge was designed to efficiently recover oil droplets, especially in cases where low temperatures cause paraffin wax crystallization and high viscosity in crude oil. This sponge can effectively adsorb oil droplets from wastewater between 5 and 40 degrees Celsius, with the adsorbed oil being easily released upon rinsing with heptol.