Structure-modification and oil pick-up ability of PHBV as oil sorbent materials

The PHBV (β-hydroxybutyrate-co-β-hydroxyvalerate) foams as oil sorbent materials, which were prepared by salting out method based on PHBV and chloroform additive and their oil pick-up abilities were investigated. And the oil pick-up abilities of different PHBV foams as oil sorbent materials were compared. The results show that with the amount of chloroform additive and sodium chloride increasing, the oil pick-up rates, the oil-keeping rates and the second oil pick-up rates of PHBV foams can increase to different extent. When the amount of sodium chloride was 92%, the ratio of PHBV to chloroform was 1 (g):14 (mL), the oil pick-up ability of the PHBV foam was optimal. And their oil pick-up ratios can reach 25.51 (26℃) and 27.51 g/g (17℃) in raw oil, which were 4-5 times more than those of PHBV powder. In addition, the structure-modified PHBV as oil sorbent materials also has some advantages, such as three-dimension structure, bio-degradability and good oil pick-up ability, so this kind of green oil sorbent materials will have great perspective in the future.