Eco-friendly fabrication of hydrophobic cellulose-derived from pineapple leaves for oil recovery

The conversion of cellulose-rich biomass into valuable materials for wastewater treatment has garnered attention in recent years. Particularly, the synthesis of aerogel materials with hydrophobic properties for oil adsorption applications has been of special interest due to the complexity and chemical usage in current processes. This study, therefore, aims to fabricate carbon cellulose chitosan aerogel material with the hydrophobicity inherent in using carbon fibers from the carbonization of cellulose fibers at high temperatures. Additionally, investigations were conducted into the impact of chitosan content in aerogel and the solid content in the gel on the adsorption capacity of carbon aerogel. The FTIR analysis and XRD profile validated the existence of disordered graphite exhibiting inherent hydrophobic characteristics. Meanwhile, the adsorption study indicates that the non-modified hydrophobic material with methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) possessed a superior oil adsorption capacity compared to the modified sample. Specifically, the adsorption capacity of the non-modified carbon aerogel sample for diesel was 54 g/g, while this figure was only 39 g/g for the MTMS-modified sample. Moreover, the material also demonstrated great adsorption capacity for solvents such as dichloromethane or DMF, with an adsorption capacity of approximately 48 g/g. Therefore, the research not only proposes a method to utilize pineapple leaves, an agricultural waste product, for the synthesis of valuable materials but also suggests a simplified approach for synthesizing hydrophobic materials for oil recovery and wastewater treatment processes in general.