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Fabrication and Characterization of Renewable Alginate-Lignin Aerogel for Efficient Oil Absorption

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Abstract

Currently, several treatment processes for oil absorption have been introduced by researchers among which the utilization of natural three-dimensional porous absorbers has received significant attention due to their low cost, high absorption capacity, environmental friendliness, and biodegradability. In this work, lignin as a renewable bioresource with the potential for application in various value-added applications was chosen for the fabrication of sodium alginate/lignin aerogel. In this research, the lignin utilized was derived from the precipitation of black liquor. To optimize the yield of lignin, various parameters such as pH, aging time, temperature, and acid type were investigated using the Taguchi methodology. The experiments were carried out at the estimated optimum conditions indicated the highest yield of lignin precipitation, which was 82.05%, at a pH of three, an aging time of 120 min, a temperature of 75 ℃, and an acid type of H2SO4. In the second stage, robust and stable hydrophobic sodium alginate/lignin aerogel was fabricated using different cross-linker agents (CaCl2, FeCl3, and glutaraldehyde), with a facile freeze-drying method, and a chemical vapor deposition hydrophobic modification. The SA/lignin-CaCl2, SA/lignin-FeCl3, and SA/lignin- glutaraldehyde aerogels possessed high porosity values that exceeded 96%, low density (24.1–25.8 mg/cm3), and absorption capacity for sunflower oil was 24.48 (g/g), 26.34 (g/g), and 25.15 (g/g), respectively. These results imply that the cost-effective aerogel holds significant potential for oil recovery applications and environmental protection.

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  1. Nanomaterials and Surface Technology Research Laboratory, School of Chemical, Petroleum and Gas Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, Narmak, P. B. 16765–163, Tehran, Iran

    Mahnaz Montazeri & Reza Norouzbeigi

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  1. Mahnaz Montazeri
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  2. Reza Norouzbeigi
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MM: Experimental work, Methodology, Software, Writing original draft. RN: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing-review and editing, Supervision. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Reza Norouzbeigi.

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Montazeri, M., Norouzbeigi, R. Fabrication and Characterization of Renewable Alginate-Lignin Aerogel for Efficient Oil Absorption. J Polym Environ (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-023-03121-4

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