Cellulose based hyper-crosslinked polymer for efficiently recovering valuable materials from PO/SM wastewater

Int J Biol Macromol. 2021 Dec 15;193(Pt A):71-80. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.10.034. Epub 2021 Oct 9.

Abstract

Herein, a TEMPO-oxidized cellulose-grafted-polystyrene hypercrosslinked polymer (TOC-PS-HCP) was synthesized facilely by TEMPO oxidation, grafting copolymerization and post crosslinking route. Based on the structural characterization, it was confirmed that TOC-PS-HCP mainly consisted of polystyrene chain on cellulose and rigid crosslinked bridge. Additionally, the as-prepared TOC-PS-HCP displayed appropriate hydrophobicity (water contact angle = 102.44°) and high specific surface area (SBET = 601.20 m2·g--1), which could efficiently recover ethylbenzene and styrene from PO/SM wastewater. The adsorption experiment was conducted to study the recovery performance for ethylbenzene and styrene in the aqueous phase. The results showed that TOC-PS-HCP could recover ethylbenzene and styrene quickly by adsorption process, and maintain a stable recovery rate both in different aqueous conditions and recycle experiments. The adsorption experiment in the simulated wastewater solution showed that TOC-PS-HCP exhibited the greater affinity for ethylbenzene and styrene than other substrates. Furthermore, a possible mechanism for the efficient recovery of ethylbenzene and styrene was suggested on the basis of experimental and theoretical results, which may be associated with van der Waals force and π-π stacking.

Keywords: Adsorption; Cellulose; Hypercrosslinked polymer.

MeSH terms

  • Adsorption
  • Cellulose / chemistry*
  • Cyclic N-Oxides / chemistry*
  • Polymers / chemistry*
  • Wastewater / chemistry*
  • Water Purification / methods*

Substances

  • Cyclic N-Oxides
  • Polymers
  • Waste Water
  • 4-amino-TEMPO
  • Cellulose