Bamboo charcoal fused with polyurethane foam for efficiently removing organic solvents from wastewater: experimental and simulation

The development of a multifunctional oil adsorbing material which could effectively and quickly separate oily wastewater is one of the focuses in water environment restoration. In this study, bamboo charcoal (BC) was used as an improver to modify polyurethane (PU) foam. The results of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) revealed that the addition of BC could effectively improve the mechanical properties of PU. The adsorption data exhibited that the BC-loaded PU (BC/PU) foam composites effectively removed seven organic solvents (OSs, including octane, petroleum ether, soybean oil, chlorobenzene, 1,2-dichloroethane, n-hexane, cyclohexane), and the maximum adsorption capacity of BC/PU was 23.6 g g(-1) when BC content was 5%. The order of pseudo-second-order kinetic constants and maximum adsorption capacity of seven OS s was octane < petroleum ether < soybean oil < chlorobenzene < 1, 2-dichloroethane < cyclohexane < n- hexane. Based on the experimental data and density functional theory (DFT) simulation, the adsorption mechanism of OSs on BC/PU-5 was discussed. The E-HOMO and mu of OSs calculated by DFT were highly correlated with absorption affinity (K-2, Q(e) and Q(max)). Hence, the contribution of OSs to the adsorption efficiency of BC/PU-5 may be mainly due to electron donor-acceptor (EDA) interaction and non-hydrophobic interaction. In addition, the adsorption capacity did not change significantly after repeated recycling 5 times. Overall, the prepared BC/PU foam composites could be used as a potential candidate for separating OSs in engineering applications. [GRAPHICS] .

Automated summary

This study successfully developed a bamboo charcoal-modified polyurethane foam that effectively removes organic solvents from oily wastewater. The addition of bamboo charcoal improved the mechanical properties of polyurethane, and the maximum adsorption capacity of the BC/PU foam was 23.6 g g(-1). The adsorption mechanism of organic solvents on BC/PU-5 was mainly attributed to electron donor-acceptor interaction and non-hydrophobic interaction, as supported by density functional theory simulation. Additionally, the adsorption capacity remained stable after multiple recycling cycles. The prepared BC/PU foam composites show great potential as candidates for separating organic solvents in engineering applications.