Investigation on the oil sorption capability of silkworm cocoon waste

Abstract

In this study, degummed and undegummed silkworm cocoon wastes were used to investigate their oil sorption capabilities for three kinds of oils, namely motor oil, vegetable oil, and crude oil. The laboratory-scale oil sorption results reveal that degummed silkworm cocoon waste has sorption capacities of 16.7, 15.8, and 14.2 g/g for motor oil, vegetable oil, and crude oil, respectively. It exhibits higher sorption capacities for these three oils compared with raw cocoons and cocoon scrap. These sorbents also exhibited excellent oil/water selectivity, retention capacity, and reusability. According to the large-scale experiment, the crude oil can be removed completely by degummed silkworm cocoon waste in 20 min, which shows that degummed silkworm cocoon waste could be considered a good alternative to synthetic sorbent materials applied to oil removal and recycling.