Construction of a superhydrophobic ZnO-rGO/CMF composite and its high-efficiency oil adsorption-separation performance

• ZnO-rGO/CMF composite exhibits superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 151.5° and superoleophilicity, enabling efficient oil-water separation. • The composite achieves a maximum adsorption capacity of 120.2 g/g for soybean oil, outperforming most previously reported MF-derived carbon-based adsorbents. • The material demonstrates excellent recyclability, maintaining stable adsorption performance over 20 separation cycles and retaining 70% capacity after five combustion cycles. • The fabrication method combines hydrothermal treatment and pyrolysis, yielding a composite with high compression resistance and flame retardancy, suitable for practical oily wastewater treatment.