Steamed bun-derived microporous carbon for oil-water separation

It is of great importance to develop inexpensive sustainable oil absorbent materials due to the frequent oil spill accidents and the increasing discharge of oil-containing waste water. In this work, through carbonization of steamed bun which was fabricated by steaming fermented flour dough, a low-cost microporous carbon material has been developed for oil removal from oil-water mixtures. Fermentation with yeasts produced plenty of interconnected micropores inside the dough, and this microporous structure was in the end inherited by microporous carbon after the dough was steamed and carbonized. Due to its hydrophobic/superoleophilic surface, the obtained microporous carbon showed affinity to oils while repellency to water. The combination of high porosity and special surface wettability provided this material with considerable oil absorption capacity as well as the capability of selective oil absorption from oil-water mixtures. This steamed bun-based microporous carbon could be a low-cost and sustainable material with great potential for remediation of water from oil pollutions.