학술논문
Eco-friendly fabrication of aerogels from cigarette butts for removal of oil spill and cationic dye in wastewater
Document Type
Original Paper
Author
Source
Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology. 110(2):363-376
Subject
Language
English
ISSN
0928-0707
1573-4846
1573-4846
Abstract
Oil spills and dye pollution are currently severe problems that the world is facing due to their negative influences on the ecosystem. In this study, two novel promising and economical procedures for synthesizing high-value engineering aerogels from discarded cigarette butts are successfully developed. Cellulose acetate (CA) fibers separated from the cigarette waste are converted into aerogels via two eco-friendly methods: the sol-gel method with alkali-urea (AU) and the crosslinker method with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) followed by the freeze-drying process. The two types of aerogels both have a highly porous structure with a porosity of 96.88–98.01%. The pore size of CA-PVA aerogel is in the range of 50–100 µm, while the CA-AU aerogels exhibit an extremely smaller pore size of 10–50 µm. Since the water contact angle after methyltrimethoxysilane coating is in a range of 120–133°, these aerogels have great potential for oil adsorption. The modified CA-PVA aerogels and CA-AU aerogel respectively exhibit significant maximum oil adsorption capacity of 25.22 g.g−1 and 14.89 g.g−1 in less than 10 sec, which can be promising prospects for oil spill treatment. The CA-AU aerogel also exhibits as a promising material for dye removal application with the highest crystal violet (CV) adsorption capacity is more than 38 mg/g. The study results show the great potential of two aerogels in environmental treatment. While CA-PVA aerogel is more suitable for oil adsorption due to its better oil adsorption capacity, the CA-AU aerogel can be versatilely applied for both oil and dye treatment.Graphical Abstract:
Highlights: Fabricating aerogels from cigarette waste via two methods: the NaOH-urea and the crosslinker method.The alkaline solution changes the original fibrillated morphology of CA fibers in sol-gel method.The morphology of CA fibers is remained in crosslinker method.Two types of aerogels quickly reach equilibrium in oil adsorption capacity in less than 10 s.The highest crystal violet (CV) adsorption capacity of CA-AU aerogel is more than 38 mg/g.
Highlights: Fabricating aerogels from cigarette waste via two methods: the NaOH-urea and the crosslinker method.The alkaline solution changes the original fibrillated morphology of CA fibers in sol-gel method.The morphology of CA fibers is remained in crosslinker method.Two types of aerogels quickly reach equilibrium in oil adsorption capacity in less than 10 s.The highest crystal violet (CV) adsorption capacity of CA-AU aerogel is more than 38 mg/g.