Beeswax-modified super hydrophobic acrylonitrile butadiene styrene/polyurethane electrospun membrane for effective oil–water separation

Abstract

In this work, we report the fabrication and performance of a superhydrophobic acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)/polyurethane (PU) electrospun membrane modified with beeswax (BW) for oil–water separation. The poor spinnability and mechanical strength of the electrospun ABS membrane were modified by blending it with PU, which has excellent mechanical strength. To the ABS/PU blend electrospun membrane, pure BW was loaded in four different compositions (3–10%). The blend membrane containing 5 wt% beeswax (ABS/PU–5BW) exhibited superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 150 ± 4° and an oil absorption capacity of 20.5–23.5 g g⁻¹ with an average recovery of 87.55–81.64% in different oils. Moreover, it showed significant potential for gravity-driven oil/water separation, with a separation efficiency of 98.14%. The ABS/PU–5BW membrane has significant reusability efficiency even after 12 cycles of oil absorption and gravity-driven oil–water separation. The optimized membrane exhibited significant thermal and mechanical stability, as well as durability under extreme conditions, such as UV exposure and varying pH levels. Thus, our study developed a novel polymer-blend electrospun membrane modified with beeswax with potential applications in industrial oily wastewater treatment and oil spill remediation.