Engineering Breakthroughs in Environmental Remediation: The CF-MF Approach

Abstract

The accelerating pace of industrialization and urbanization have intensified water pollution threats from oil spills and organic effluents, critically affecting the aquatic ecosystems. Addressing this urgent challenge calls for innovative solutions that are efficient, eco-friendly, and cost-effective. Three dimensional porous sorbents have become a ground-breaking method for oil recovery, drawing substantial attention from both academia and industry. In this work, we developed a superhydrophobic/superoleophilic melamine formaldehyde (MF) sponge modified with catechol formaldehyde via polycondensation, followed by dip-coating of the sponge and heat treatment in controlled atmosphere, resulting in an effective sorbent for oil-water separation. Characterization techniques such as XRD, FTIR, Raman spectroscopy, FESEM, and EDS verified the successful surface modification and the formation of the CF@MF sponge. The CF@MF sponge demonstrates outstanding superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 172°, highlighting its excellent repellency to water. For oil in air and oil in water, the contact angles are ~91° and 0°, indicating strong oil affinity. It achieves ~98% separation efficiency in DI water as well as artificial seawater. Impressively, the sponge maintains a good oil absorption capacity after 20 cycles of repeated sorption and mechanical squeezing, showcasing its durability and reusability. Our investigation establishes CF@MF sponge as an advanced solution for large-scale oil spill remediation. The synthesis process is efficient, costeffective, and scalable for industrial production. Further, the CF resin and CF@MF sponge were explored for the removal of methylene blue dye with ~98% efficiency. The abovementioned findings have ample rationale to believe that the strategy adopted herein will provide an easy and environmentally benign method for synthesizing porous sorbents for wastewater treatment in future.