Abstract
The present study reports using waste silk fabric functionalized using Polylactic acid (PLA) and Activated charcoal for oil/solvent recovery from simulated seawater (3.5% NaCl-based water). An average of 91% separation was visible in the functionalized waste silk fabric with an efficiency up to 20 cycles towards petroleum oils/solvents from simulated seawater. Further, the functionalized waste fabric showed hydrophobic properties with a water-based contact angle of 105° and oil/solvent absorption towards petroleum oils and organic solvent, with a surface free energy of 52.46 mN m−1. The functionalized waste silk also showed permeation flux of 658, 386, and 993 L m−2 h−1, for Petrol, Diesel, and n-Hexane, respectively. The results show that PLA/Activated-charcoal engineered waste silk can be effectively applied for practical oil/solvent recovery from simulated seawater. Utilizing waste silk fabric further supports in reducing the global carbon footprints as silk does not emit and/-or produce carbon dioxide due to its green origin and generating the circular economy approach.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 101022 |
| Journal | Journal of the Indian Chemical Society |
| Volume | 100 |
| Issue number | 7 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2023 |
Keywords
- Environmental remediation
- Hydrophobicity
- Oil/solvent recovery
- Polylactic acid (PLA)
- Silk fabric
- Surface functionalization
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Drug Discovery
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry
- Inorganic Chemistry
- Electrochemistry
