Continuous separation of oil from water surface by a novel tubular unit based on graphene coated polyurethane sponge

摘要

>We develop a new strategy for the continuous separation of oil from water surface using a novel tubular unit based on graphene coated polyurethane (P‐GEPU) sponge, and the P‐GEPU sponge was fabricated by a simple dip‐coating method; the as‐prepared sponges could adsorb different kinds of oil and organic liquids while repelling water. Moreover, the tubular unit was assembled by wrapping the P‐GEPU sponge on a porous PU hollow tube and combined with the accessories including pipes and joints. The tubular unit could float on the surface of water, and a continuous oil collection from water surface through vacuum pressure could be fulfilled, showing a high oil‐water separation efficiency (96%). Finally, oil‐water separation efficiency remains above 93% after 10?cycles, exhibiting excellent reusability. In addition, our findings are easily scaled up, showing a great promise for large‐scale oil spill remediation.