Optimizing cleanup of highly viscous oil spills: A biomass-based aerogel with photothermal conversion and joule heating for a dual-energy absorption device

The frequent occurrences of offshore oil spills have led to severe environmental contamination and ecological threats. However, traditional recovery methods pose issues such as high-energy consumption, low absorption efficiency and secondary pollution. This work prepared a hydrophobic aerogel (P-GO@CNTs-9/ATP/SA) using sodium alginate, attapulgite and graphene oxide surface-modified carbon nanotubes with superior solar/Joule heating ability. The water contact angle of this aerogel is approximately 147.5°. Moreover, this aerogel demonstrates stable and efficient photothermal conversion properties, reaching a surface temperature of 82.3 °C under one solar illumination (1 kW/m 2 ). Furthermore, when applying a voltage of 10 V, the surface temperature of the P-GO@CNTs-9/ATP/SA aerogel reaches 170.4 °C, assisting photothermal conversion to enhance the fluidity of viscous oil, thereby conserving energy. Finally, we present a continuous absorption device utilizing P-GO@CNTs-9/ATP/SA as the primary component, enabling automatic switching between photothermal and electrothermal modes for the comprehensive and continuous treatment of oil spills. Due to the unique design, environmental friendliness and ideal absorption capacity, this approach offers a novel choice for recovery of oil spills, which is expected to further promote principles of sustainable development.