Using a Facile One-Step Dip-Coating Method to Transform Young Coconut Husk Into Organic Solvent Absorbents

The indiscriminate discharge of wastewater containing a large amount of organic solvents has led to increasingly serious water pollution problems. Although absorbents-based removal methods can effectively remove organic solvents from water, the currently used absorbents have the problem of complex preparation processes. This work uses green polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to propose a simple dip-coating method to directly transform discarded young coconut husk (YCH) into an absorbent, PDMS-coated YCH, which directly avoids multiple synthesis steps and the use of harmful chemicals. Relying on the water repellency provided by PDMS, the absorbent has the ability to remove organic solvents from water, showing an excellent organic solvents-water separation capability. After this absorbent is used continuously 15 times, the adsorption removal efficiency of the absorbent remains at 99.2% and it also retains its own structural characteristics, demonstrating outstanding recyclability. Not only that, the prepared absorbent also has excellent self-cleaning and anti-fouling ability, showing good practical application potential. This work not only uses more environmentally friendly synthetic materials but also proposes a simpler method for preparing absorbents, which can be applied to the development and utilization of other types of agricultural waste biomass.