Study of selective absorption of oil/water and of mechanical properties of polyurethane foams for oil spill recovery

Pollution due to spillage of hydrocarbons into the sea represents an environmental problem well known in the last years. In order to recover oils and to clean the sea, containing arms made by polymeric materials can be employed. Polyurethane foams can be considered suitable materials for this purpose since they can recover oils from sea-water easily by squeezing and subsequently re-using them. In this work we studied polyurethane foams filled with carbon fillers, in different amount, in order to enhance the selectivity of the material toward the oils recovery and to improve the mechanical durability of the foam. Wet-ability in water, oils and water/oils mix, absorption measurements, morphological observations and mechanical tests were performed on the foams. Experimental results highlighted as the carbon filler enhance the selective absorption of the foam toward oils and improves the elastic behavior of the foam.