Synthesis of 9-octadecenoic acid grafted graphene modified with polystyrene for efficient light oil removal from water

This paper presents a novel hydrophobic material based 9-octadecenoic acid grafted graphene (POG) for oil/water separation. Graphene derived from graphite was modified with 9-octadecenoic acid to obtain 9-octadecenoic acid grafted graphene (OG). Then, emulsion polymerization of styrene was performed on OG to produce polystyrene branches on 9-octadecenoic acid grafted graphene (POG). Synthesized POG composites were then characterized by using various tools. The separation performance of the composites was evaluated by using an emulsion of organic compounds such as heptane with dye-colored water. Three different composites were prepared by varying the amount of 9-octadecenoic acid grafted graphene used as follows: POG₂₅, POG₅₀, and POG₇₅. The results showed that the higher the ratio of the 9-octadecenoic acid grafted graphene, the higher the oil uptake efficacy of the material and the faster the rate of the adsorption. The material was regenerated and its performance was tested again. The adsorption rate was constant for the next several cycles. Thus, this material has the potential to be utilized to clean up oil spills or to remove oil contaminants from water for cleaner production of produced water.