Carbon and polymer-based magnetic nanocomposites for oil-spill remediation-a comprehensive review

Facile fabrication of magnetite nanoparticles with new hydrophobic amides and their application in oil spill remediation

In this study, inexpensive magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4) were prepared and applied to oil spill remediation. To do so, two novel hydrophobic amides, HADN and HATN, were prepared and applied to Fe3O4 surface modification, producing HAN-Fe3O4 and HAT-Fe3O4, respectively. The efficiency of HAN-Fe3O4 and HAT-Fe3O4 for oil spill remediation (EOSR) was investigated using different HAN-Fe3O4 and HAT-Fe3O4 weights and at various contact times. The data indicated that the EOSR increased with increased HAN-Fe3O4 and HAT-Fe3O4 weights, as their EOSR reached 100% and 89%, respectively, using 100 mg. The results also revealed that the optimum time for HAN-Fe3O4 and HAT-Fe3O4 (50 mg) to achieve the highest EOSR is 8 min, as their EOSR reached 98% and 84%, respectively, at this time. In addition, HAN-Fe3O4 exhibited higher EOSR than HAT-Fe3O4, which could be linked to the presence of an aromatic ring in HADN that is used for surface modification of Fe3O4, making them more compatible with crude oil components.

Demulsification Performance and Mechanism of Tertiary Amine Polymer-Grafted Magnetic Nanoparticles in Surfactant-Free Oil-in-Water Emulsion

Numerous cationic magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have previously been developed for demulsifying oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion, and results showed that the cationic MNPs could effectively flocculate and remove the negatively charged oil droplets via charge attraction; however, to the best of our knowledge, there are no research reports regarding the synergetic influence of both the positive charge density and interfacial activity of MNPs on the demulsification performance. In this study, three tertiary amine polymer-grafted MNPs, namely, poly(2-dimethylaminoethyl acrylate)-grafted MNPs (M-PDMAEA), poly(2-dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate)-grafted MNPs (M-PDMAEMA), and poly(2-diethylaminoethyl methacrylate)-grafted MNPs (M-PDEAEMA), were synthesized and evaluated for their demulsification performance. Results demonstrated that a high positive charge density and superior interfacial activity of MNPs could cause partial oil droplet re-dispersion when excessive MNPs were introduced, leading to a lower magnetic separation efficiency and narrower demulsification window. Herein, a demulsification window is defined as a range of nanoparticle dosages in which the MNPs can effectively demulsify the O/W emulsion under certain conditions. For highly positively charged MNPs, their good interfacial activity could aggravate the formation of a narrower demulsification window. When tertiary amine polymer-grafted MNPs carried a lower positive charge density or weak interfacial activity, that is, M-PDMAEA at pH 4.0, M-PDMAEMA at pH 5.0-9.0, and M-PDEAEMA at pH 9.0-10.0, wide demulsification windows were observed. Additionally, a recycling experiment suggested that MNPs could maintain high demulsification efficiency up to at least five cycles, indicating their satisfactory recyclability. The three tertiary amine polymer-grafted MNPs can be potentially used for efficient demulsification from surfactant-free O/W emulsion in various pH ranges.