A green strategy to recycle the waste PP melt-blown materials: From 2D to 3D construction

The demand for polypropylene (PP) melt-blown materials has dramatically increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It has caused serious environmental problems because of the lack of effective treatment for the waste PP melt-blown materials. In this study, we propose a green and sustainable recycling method to create PP sponges from waste PP melt-blown material for oil spill cleaning by freeze-drying and thermal treatment techniques. The recycling method is simple and without secondary pollution to the environment. The developed recycling method successfully transforms 2D laminar dispersed PP microfibers into elastic sponges with a 3D porous structure, providing the material with good mechanical properties and promotes its potential application in the field of oil spill cleaning. The morphology structure, thermal properties, mechanical properties, and oil absorption properties are tested and characterized. The PP sponges with a three-dimensional porous network structure show an exceedingly low density of >0.014 g/cm³, a high porosity of <98.77 %, and a high water contact angle range of 130.4-139.9°. Moreover, the PP sponges own a good absorption capacity of <47.61 g/g for different oil and solvents. In particular, the compressive modulus of the PP sponges is 33.59-201.21 kPa, which is higher than that of most other fiber-based porous materials, indicating that the PP sponges have better durability under the same force. The excellent comprehensive performance of the PP sponges demonstrates the method developed in this study has large application potential in the field of the recycle of waste PP melt-blown materials.