Continuous oil–water separation by utilizing novel natural hollow fibers: evaluation and potential applications
Desert rose seed (DRS) fibers are derived from seed pods of Adenium obesum plants, which belong to the Apocynaceae family. DRS fibers are primarily indigenous to southern Africa and greater Arabia but can also be found in various regions spanning China, Thailand, and India. Despite numerous studies that have focused on the characterization and utilization of various parts of Adenium obesum plants, the physical characterization and absorption behavior of desert rose seed fibers have not yet been explored. Thus, the objective of this study was to comprehensively evaluate the morphology, chemical composition, structural dimensions, fiber surface absorption characteristics, and tensile strength properties of these fibers. Desert rose seed fibers are inherently exceptional fibers resembling a “cross flower” cross-sectional structure that exhibits a unique hollow formation with thin fiber walls and a spacious lumen of fiber samples. The results demonstrate that the density of the fibers obtained from desert rose seed is comparatively low (0.48 g/cm 3 ), while the moisture content was noted as 10.3%. Furthermore, the fiber length distribution of the samples was noted as relatively concentrated. Cellulose I was identified as the primary constituent of DRS fibers, accounting for approximately 54.2 ± 2% of their total structure. Moreover, the exceptional surface characteristics of desert rose seed fibers make them extremely hydrophobic and promote a strong affinity for oil. Thus, this study also introduces a novel source of superwetting materials obtained from the naturally available biodegradable material from Adenium obesum plants. These materials possess intrinsic lyophilic and hydrophobic properties and are chemically stable, light weight, and structurally robust. Our findings demonstrate that superlyophilic fiber networks in DRS fibers can serve as efficient oil absorbents, exhibiting outstanding absorption capacity and tremendous reusability. These naturally derived biological fibers demonstrated the ability to perform a continuous oil–water separation process across various organic solvents (chloroform (CF), soybean oil (SO), cyclohexane (CH), dichloromethane (DCM), paraffin liquid (PL), and ethanol (EL)) that coexist with water. Graphical abstract
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）