Recyclable Bacterial Cellulose Aerogel for Oil and Water Separation

Bacterial cellulose (BC) aerogel has great potential in treating oil spill and organic pollutant. However, its inherent hydrophilicity and poor rigidity limit its practical application and recyclability. In this study, elastically compressible and high oil-absorbing aerogels were developed by freeze-drying aqueous suspensions with appropriate BC concentrations, followed by a chemical vapor deposition of methyltrimethoxysilane with ammonia as catalyst. The modified aerogel shows high water contact angle of 142° and enhanced compression resistance. The effect of BC concentration on the absorption capacity and recyclability of aerogel has been investigated. The results show that the aerogel prepared with 0.3 wt% BC exhibits simultaneously high absorption capacity (121.8–284.1 g/g) and excellent recyclability. Futhermore, the aerogel could also separate chloroform-water mixture by gravity-driven filtration, giving the separation efficiency of 96.7%. Therefore, this economical green aerogel provides a feasible strategy for solving oil leakage in industry.