Surfactant-Loaded Halloysite Clay Nanotube Dispersants for Crude Oil Spill Remediation

Abstract

The toxicity of oil spill dispersants could be greatly reduced by using environmentally benign materials as surfactant-carrier. In this work, we report halloysite clay nanotubes (HNTs) loaded with different surfactants for crude oil spill remediation. The effectiveness of HNT loaded with the surfactants Tween 80, dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (DOSS, D), Span 80 (S) and modified soybean lecithin phosphatidylinositol (Lecithin FPI, LFPI) in crude oil spill remediation was examined with the U.S. EPA’s baffled flask test. The release kinetics of the surfactants from the HNT were studied. Ternary diagrams (Span 80–DOSS–Tween 80, Lecithin FPI–DOSS–Tween 80 and Lecithin FPI–Tween 80–Span 80) for the dispersion effectiveness of the surfactant-loaded HNT were then generated. 99 vol % dispersion effectiveness was attained by HNT loaded with ternary food grade surfactants Span 80, Tween 80 and Lecithin FPI. An environmentally friendly oil spill dispersant was therefore formulated using naturally occurring HNT and FD...