Oil-absorbent beads containing β-cyclodextrin moieties: preparation via suspension polymerization and high oil absorbency

An oil-absorbing resin with a simple polymerization system with benzyl methacrylate as a functional monomer

To solve the problem of the low absorbency of oil-absorbing resins, oil-absorbing resins (PAMs) were fabricated in this study by introducing commercially available benzyl methacrylate (BZMA) as a functional monomer copolymerized with stearyl methacrylate (SMA) and butyl acrylate (BA). The internal network structure of the PAMs expanded more easily when absorbing oils or organic solvents after introducing rigid groups of the benzene ring by an uncomplex polymerization process, which provided the oil-absorbing resin with good absorbency. The reagents were all commercially available, and there was no other pretreatment or posttreatment process. Then, the optimum parameters for the monomer feed ratio, water/oil mass ratio, and concentrations of initiator, stabilizer and crosslinker were studied. Simultaneously, the reusability, oil retention and thermal stability of PAMs were investigated in this article. The PAMs swelled in various oils and organic solvents (the values of oil absorbency were 44.52, 56.13, 25.54, 28.21, 32.85, 24.56, 14.17, 15.02 and 29.07 g g-1 for CCl4, CHCl3, CH2Cl2, benzene, toluene, xylene, n-hexane, 0# diesel oil and 93# gasoline, respectively) and displayed good oil absorbency, which met the absorption requirements for common oils or organic solvents.

Investigation on the Effect of Poly(butylmethacrylate)/attapulgite Nanocomposites for Oil Absorption

  In this work, a series of novel polybutylmethacrylate (PBMA)/attapulgite (APT) were synthesized by suspended emulsion polymerization, using ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as crosslinker. The nanocomposites were characterized by means of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of polymerization variables including amount of initiator, amount of crosslinker, and APT content on oil absorbency were investigated, and the swelling kinetics in toluene and chloroform was also systematically evaluated. The results indicated that incorporating 7 wt% APT into PBMA polymeric network could enhance the oil absorbency and oil absorption rate of the oil-absorbing resin. Furthermore, the developed nanocomposites also exhibited good reusability and oil-retention capabilities. The nanocomposites are expected to find practical applications in the recovery of spilled oils and the treatment of wastewater.

Optically active microspheres constructed by helical substituted polyacetylene and used for adsorption of organic compounds in aqueous systems

This article reports optically active microspheres consisting of chiral helical substituted polyacetylene and β-cyclodextrin-derivative (β-CD-A). The microspheres showed remarkable adsorption toward various organic compounds in water. To prepare the microspheres, an acetylenic-derived helical macro-monomer was synthesized and then underwent aqueous suspension copolymerization with octadecyl acrylate and butyl acrylate by using azobis(isobutyronitrile) as initiator and β-CD-A simultaneously as comonomer and cross-linking agent. The helical macro-monomer chains enabled the microspheres to exhibit desirable enantio-differentiating adsorption capacity toward chiral compounds respectively dissolved in organic solvent, dispersed in water, and dissolved in water. The saturated absorbency toward (R)-(+)- and (S)-(-)-1-phenylethylamine was 29 and 12 mg · g(-1), respectively. The microspheres also showed large oil absorbency (e.g., 22 g · g(-1) CCl4) and a large adsorption toward methyl red (as a model for organic dyes) dispersed in water. The presence of β-CD-A moieties improved the adsorption performance of the microspheres. The present optically active microspheres open a new approach for preparing adsorbents particularly chiral adsorbents with potentials for wastewater treatment.