چكيده به لاتين
The separation of oil and water mixtures has become necessary at the global level due to the frequent incidents of leakage of petroleum substances and organic solvents in water and the increasing need to treat industrial effluents containing oil. Due to their high specific surface area, low density, and high porosity, aerogels are an ideal adsorbent for adsorbing oil from water. In this research, a cellulose aerogel was synthesized using cellulose extracted from waste paper and modified by using nanoparticles of TiO2, SiO2, and vinyltrimethoxysilane with the help of a simple dip-coating method for the first time. To identify and characterize the synthesized materials and modified aerogel in this research, XRD, FESEM, EDS, FT-IR, DLS, nitrogen adsorption and desorption, and water contact angle measurements were used. The water contact angle for the desired modified cellulose aerogel was 160.38, indicating superhydrophobic properties in this aerogel after modifications. The adsorption capacity of the modified cellulose aerogel for different types of oily pollutants and organic solvents was investigated. This material has an adsorption capacity of 30.5±2.0 to 53.7±3.1 times its weight for the contaminants in question. The reusability of modified cellulose aerogel in this research was evaluated during ten cycles of adsorption and washing with ethanol, and the results showed that this aerogel has good reusability. Also, the capability of the desired cellulose aerogel was tested in removing oil droplets emulsified in water, and the results indicate the possibility of eliminating oil emulsion droplets in water using this adsorbent. Finally, it can be concluded that cellulose aerogel modified with nanoparticles of TiO2, SiO2, and vinyltrimethoxysilane has promising properties for removing oily pollutants and organic solvents from aqueous environments.
