Magnetic Foams Useful in the Environmental Recovery Processes

The biodiesel production was encouraged since the entire world is looking for new energy sources. However, the biodiesel process produces large amounts of glycerin as byproduct. Therefore, innovative uses for this new glycerin source must be sought so as to avoid the collapse of the animal glycerin chain. In this context, the production of resins is interesting due to the likeness between these polymers and the petroleum, with these resins being promising as spill cleanup agents. In the present work, magnetic foams were prepared with insertion of maghemite nanoparticles into in a polymer generated from the glycerin, and were characterized using FTIR-ATR. WAXD and SAXS techniques. In addition, the magnetic force and the oil removal capability of these materials were also studied. The results are encouraging because nanocomposites were obtained which possess magnetic forces larger than for pure maghemite. Furthermore, this nanocomposite is able to remove a petroleum mass around 300% larger than the used mass of the composite, which means that the composite may be important for avoiding environmental disasters owing to the oil spill on the water.