Application of irradiated EPDM rubber foam filled by sugarcane bagasse carbons for removing pollutants from wastewater

The release of industrial oily wastewater is hazardous to the environment. The irradiated foamed ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) rubber filled with three types of carbons; carbon black (CB) as traditional filler, activated carbon(AC) and activated biochar(BC); AC and BC prepared from sugarcane bagasse (SCB) as an agricultural waste; for effective removal of soluble dye and insoluble oil was prepared to offer solutions to this problem. The main objective is to enhance and improve both the adsorption and absorption capacities of the EPDM rubber towards the pollutants’ removal via the incorporation of various carbon fillers under different irradiation doses which reinforce the rubber's stability. The prepared samples were characterized by XRD, FTIR, and contact angle. It is found that 25 kGy is the best irradiation dose where the samples can exhibit high sorption performance, as the crosslink density and stability are significantly increased. The removal (%) of MB dye was 31.3, 90.2, 81.6, and 23.1 % for EPDM rubber, EPDM/AC, EPDM/BC, and EPDM/CB, respectively. While, the crude oil absorption capacities were 7.2, 9.9, 5.6, and 6.0 g/g for EPDM rubber, EPDM/AC, EPDM/BC, and EPDM/CB, respectively. These results highlight the efficiency of using waste-derived materials in developing composites for water treatment purposes.