Development of Clay-Polymer Aerogels for use as an Oil Absorbing Media

摘要

Currently there is a need for high-performance porous materials which can be implemented to mediate the effects of water borne oil spills. This need was highlighted by the recent Gulf of Mexico BP oil spill (April 2010).One way to be better prepared for oil spills in the future is to develop new materials with the specific function of removing oil from water. While many such materials do exist they don't exist in a highly abundant, economical form. The following research was conducted with the goal of producing an oil absorbing, porous material which can absorb oil while floating on the surface of water. One of the main focuses of this research was to determine which material parameters are most important when trying to maximize oil absorption. It was assumed that capillarity would be the main mechanism by which absorption would take place. In a qualitative sense it makes sense that both surface chemistry (hydrophobic vs. hydrophilic) and the structure (capillary radius) would have effects.