Clean-up of oily liquids, fuels and organic solvents from the contaminated water fields using poly(propylene glycol) based organogels

Abstract

Organogels with high and fast absorption properties, as well as reusability functions, were successfully prepared through the condensation reactions of different molecular weights of poly(propylene glycol)s (PPG)s and tris[3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl] isocyanurate (ICS). The characterization of these organogels was determined by solid-state C-13 and Si-29 cross polarization magic angle spinning (CPMAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to describe the thermal behavior of the prepared organogels. Obtained organogels are reusable and can absorb a large amount of oils, such as dichloromethane (DCM), tetrahydrofuran (THF), methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), toluene, benzene, acetone, and gasoline. The capacity of the synthesized organogels did not change in either pure organic liquids or in organic liquid/water mixtures, these can be used at least ten times without loss of capacity. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.