Efficient adsorbents for oil spill removal using a cellulose acetate-based natural fibers developed by zinc oxide bionanocomposites

Abstract

Due to the rising use of crude oil and its derivatives, there is a growing apprehension over the contamination of aquatic environments by oil. Hence, it is important to devise efficient methodologies and substances for the purpose of cleansing and eliminating oil from the surroundings. This work aimed to create an environmentally acceptable oil sorbent by combining cellulose acetate (CA) biopolymer with varied amounts of natural date palm fiber (DPF) (10, 20, and 30 wt %) and modifying the surface with ZnO nanoparticles at various ratios (2, 5, 10, and 20 wt %). This study examines the adsorption capabilities of untreated diesel particulate filters (DPF) and modified DPFs for diesel oil. The results showed that the experimental maximum sorption capacity of the composite material, DPF-CA/ZnO, made using CA polymer with 30 wt % DPF and 10 wt % ZnO nanomaterials, was significantly higher (66.4 mg/g) than that of the raw DPF (26.5 mg/g). The fabricated materials were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (DTA-TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis (BET). Isothermal studies demonstrated that the adsorption of oil followed the Langmuir and Dubinin‐Radushkevich models, with R2 values of 0.99 and 0.93, and the calculated maximum adsorption capacities (qcal) from these models were 64.6 mg/g and 65.7 mg/g, respectively. Furthermore, the kinetic studies revealed that oil adsorption obeyed pseudo-second-order kinetics infer from R2 values 0.99 and (qcal) 66.7 mg/g aligning closely with (qexp). In addition, the sorption efficiency of this sorbent after five sorption cycles indicated good reusability. This study successfully employed a DPF to efficiently remove oil from water, presenting a commercially viable and environmentally friendly solution.