Pumping with Modified Polyurethane Sponges: A Rapid Oil Spill Treatment Technology

With the rapid development of the marine transportation and oil exploration industries, oil spill accidents, such as ship discharges and leakages from oil transport vessels and offshore drilling platforms, occur from time to time, turning oil spill pollution at sea into an increasingly serious problem. Therefore, developing a rapid and efficient oil spill pollution treatment is of great significance to protect the water environment. In this study, we used a simple dip-coating method to modify polydimethylsiloxane and nano-alumina onto a polyurethane sponge skeleton to prepare a super-oleophilic/super-hydrophobic porous adsorbent called Al₂O₃@PDMS/PU. The prepared Al₂O₃@PDMS/PU has a contact angle of 156.8° with water and can adsorb oil or organic solvents equivalent to 16–38 times its own weight. Based on the excellent super-oleophilic/super-hydrophobic properties of Al₂O₃@PDMS/PU, we designed an oil collection device that can continuously recover oil and organic solvents. Unlike the traditional oil recovery method, this device integrates the oil–water separation and oil recovery processes such that the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent is no longer limited by its own weight and volume. This device shows broad application prospects in emergencies, such as oil leakages from drilling platforms and organic solvent leakage.