Carbon aerogel from winter melon for highly efficient and recyclable oils and organic solvents absorption

Direct conversion of biomass to carbon aerogel provides a promising approach to developing absorbent materials for spilled oils and organic solvents recovery. In this work, three-dimensional carbon aerogels were fabricated via a hydrothermal and post-pyrolysis process using winter melon as the only raw materials. The winter melon carbon aerogel (WCA) prepared shows a low density of 0.048 g/cm3, excellent hydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 135°, and selective absorption for organic solvents and oils. The absorption capacity of WCA for organic solvents and oils can be 16-50 times its own weight. Moreover, distillation can be employed to recover WCA and harvest the pollutants. Over five absorption-harvesting cycles, the absorption capacity of WCA to organic solvents and low boiling point oils can recover almost 100% of its starting capacity. With a combination of low-cost biomass as raw materials, green preparation process, low density, and excellent hydrophobicity, WCA as an absorber has great potential in application of spilled oil recovery and environmental protection.