Natural oil sorbents modification methods for hydrophobicity improvement

Abstract

In recent years, accidental and intentional oil discharges have been occurred frequently during transportation, production, and refining, which results in severe negative impact on organisms and ecological environment. Among existing techniques for the removal of oil from water, the use of sorbents is generally considered to be one of the most efficient techniques. Moreover, the application of natural sorbent materials is an attractive method for combating oil spill pollution, mainly due to the lower costs, high effectiveness and their properties such as reusability, biodegradability and recovery. Hydrophobicity (oleophilicity) is one of the major determinants of sorbents properties influencing the effectiveness of oil sorption in the presence of water. In order to improve these properties, the surface of the sorbent is modified using chemical or physical treatment methods. The purpose of this study is to analyze sorbents modification methods in order to increase their hydrophobic-oleophilic characteristics for oil spills cleanup taking into account environmental aspects. In this research natural organic sorbent – moss was treated with hot water (80 °C and 100 °C), mercerized, coated with oil and oil in water emulsions with concentrations 10 % and 50 %. The test of diesel sorption capacity was performed to compare the hydrophobic properties of modified sorbents. The results of this research demonstrate that simple hot water and alkali treatments can alter the surface characteristics of plant fibers and improve absorption capacity.