Sustainable, hydrophobic, and reusable paper waste aerogel as an effective and versatile oil absorbent

The direct use of environmental paper waste (PW) to create spongy aerogel intended for oil absorption is an interesting green chemistry technique. The oil sorption response, on the other hand, is constrained by a poor oil sorption capacity and lack of stability. To address these concerns for the time being, silica aerogel is being used. Our goal is to use PW aerogel to replace silica aerogels. We made an environmental PW-based aerogel by dispersing PW, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and glutaraldehyde (GA). In terms of oil sorption the hybrid PW aerogel performs wonderfully. Notably, it displayed a significant absorption capacity towards various oils of approximately 49-110 times its own mass, dependent on the thickness and density of the oil and solvents within 15-35 s, 25 degrees C, and 2 x 2 cm dimensions. Additionally, owing to the high sponginess (99.95%), and less density (0.0114 g/cm(3)), tight bonding between PW and PVA occurs. As a results, the spongy aerogel has an oleophilic nature, superior mechanical power, and high thermal strength. The consistent fibrillar pore linkage gives a high surface to volume ratio, low surface energy, as well as high surface roughness, the aerogel undergoes minimal structural change after numerous recycles. All of these elements have a role in excessive oil absorption.