Study of poly(vinyl chloride) nanofiber structured assemblies as oil sorbents

Abstract

The most significant feature of Nanofiber electrospinning is its capability of producing very fine Nanofiber mats which can be suitable as oil absorbent. This paper presents an investigation of oil adsorption and retention of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) Nanofiber mat absorbent. The emphasis is on the numerical modeling of the oil sorption capacity and the factors affecting it such as the packing density and the Nanofiber diameter. Finally, the mechanism of absorbent property enhancement and the ways to improve performance and fracture toughness for oil sorption are discussed. To enhance the oil sorption, it was suggested to add a low percentage of cellulose acetate (CA) and assess the performance of various Nanofibers as absorbent material. When the results of these studies were compared to results that of PVC Nanofiber mat, it was shown that PVC/CA 8% blend absorbs oil more efficiently.

Keywords:

• Oil spills
• poly(vinyl chloride)
• cellulose acetate
• nanofiber
• sorbents

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.