شبنم مداحي

The increasing concern over water pollution, particularly about oil spills, has heightened the need for effective and environmentally sustainable absorbents. Conventional absorbent materials, including minerals and synthetic polymers, exhibit certain limitations, pro‎mp‎ting the advancement of innovative three-dimensional absorbents such as foams, sponges, and aerogels. Among these, lignocellulosic aerogels have gained significant attention as viable solutions for addressing oil contamination in water, owing to their highly porous structure, low density, and superior absorption capacity. In this study, a lignocellulosic aerogel was synthesized using cellulose extracted from palm tree trunks for the purpose of oil removal from water. Additionally, this aerogel was composited with metakaolin and synthetic zeolite A, employing response surface methodology to optimize the experimental process. The factors influencing aerogel synthesis included glutaraldehyde from 0.03 to 0.62 g, sodium dodecyl sulf from 0.032 to 0.12 g, metakaolin and zeolite A from 0.038 to 0.44 g. The optimal condition derived from the experimental design resulted in an oil sorption capacity of 17.75 g/g for the cellulose aerogel and metakaolin composite (forecasting error of less than 1%). Given the significant effect of wettability on oil absorption and the necessity of selectivity, the absorbent was modified to enhance its hydrophobicity. This modification was achieved using stearic acid and vinyl trimethoxysilane via a simple dip-coating method.to characterize the fabricated samples, various analytical techniques were employed, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis (BET), and water contact angle measurements. BET analysis indicated a specific surface area of 250 m²/g for the synthesized zeolite A, while the specific surface area for the optimized aerogels ranged from 7 to 11 m²/g. Water contact angle measurements for the optimized aerogels ranged from 122° to 148.1°. Additionally, the oil sorption capacity of these aerogels was reported to be between 17.66 and 21.67 g/g. The results of this study indicate that lignocellulosic composite aerogels possess significant potential for effectively eliminating oily pollutants from aquatic environments

هواژل ليگنوسلولزي، كامپوزيت، جذب روغن خوراكي، زئوليت A

lignocellulose aerogel, composite, Oil sorption, zeolite A.

Shabnam Madahi

Dr. Norouzbeigi