Fabrication of superhydrophobic polycaprolactone/beeswax electrospun membranes for high-efficiency oil/water separation

In this work, a novel superhydrophobic, superoleophilic electrospun nanofibrous membrane of beeswax and polycaprolactone has been successfully fabricated. The prepared membrane can separate oil from contaminated water with high separation efficiency and good recyclability. The hybrid membrane containing 25 wt% beeswax (PCL-25BW) possesses superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of about 153° ± 2. PCL-25BW membrane exhibited high oil sorption capacity of 16.95-31.05 g g −1 in different oils. Moreover, it also showed high potential for gravity driven oil-water separation with 98.1% separation efficiency. PCL-25BW membrane exhibits reusability after 15 cycles of oil sorption and gravity driven oil-water separation. The developed membrane showed an increase in tensile strength after oil sorption and environmental durability in harsh conditions such as UV exposure and pH. This work introduced a new idea to fabricate oil-water separation membranes from beeswax, which have potential in industrial oily waste water and oil spill cleanup. A novel superhydrophobic, superoleophilic electrospun nanofibrous membrane of beeswax and polycaprolactone has been fabricated.