Romanian Merino Wool Sorbent for Oil Spill Cleanup

Abstract

Removal of some pollutants (Basra, Azeri, and Rebco crude oils, diesel, gasoline, and 1/1 (w/w) diesel-gasoline mixture) from water by sorption using Romanian Merino wool as a natural sorbent was studied in this paper. Batch experiments were conducted at different levels of initial sorbent mass (1 and 3 g), oily water pH (5 and 10), and operating temperature (30 and 45 �C). The effects of these factors on wool sorption capacity were evaluated. The sorption capacity of more viscous fuels (crude oils), i.e., 4.13-21.87 g/g, increased with an increase in oily water pH and a decrease in initial sorbent mass and temperature. For less viscous pollutants (diesel, gasoline, and their mixture), the sorption capacity (3.32-9.19 g/g) increased with a decrease in sorbent mass, the effects of pH and temperature being negligible. Experimental results were processed according to a 2 3 factorial plan and regression equations between the process factors and sorption capacity were obtained. SEM analysis revealed that the removal process was governed by both adsorption and absorption mechanisms.