Crude Oil Sorption Research Articles

Polyurethane foam impregnated with lignin as a filler for the removal of crude oil from contaminated water

The present study describes the influence of the concentration of lignin when used as a filler in polyurethane foam for crude oil sorption. The foams (lignin 0–20wt%) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis, contact angle and density. The FTIR analysis confirmed urethane linkage formation, showing that the chemical structure of the polymer was preserved, despite the addition of different lignin concentrations. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that the presence of lignin has altered the onset temperature (Tonset) of the foams, decreasing as the concentration of lignin is increased. The contact angle analysis showed a decrease in the hydrophobicity of the foams with increasing lignin concentration. All modified foams showed an improvement in the oil sorption capacity in a PUF/oil/water system, and the PUF-10 showed an improvement of about 35.5% compared to the PUF-blank. The Langmuir isotherm showed a better fit to the data and predicted a maximum oil adsorption of 28.9gg−1 by the PUF-10. The ΔG° value of −4.4kJmol−1 indicated that crude oil adsorption process by PUF-10 was spontaneous. The results of reuse of the PUF-10 showed that oil removal efficiency remained greater than 95% after five consecutive cycles.

An approach for the reuse of Dacryodes edulis leaf: Characterization, acetylation and crude oil sorption studies

This work investigated the modification of Dacyodes edulis leaf (DEL) by acetylation to give acetylated Dacryodes edulis leaf (ADEL) and their applications to treatment of crude oil polluted waters. DEL acetylation was favoured by low temperature, increased time of acetylation, and in the absence of catalyst. Crude oil sorption kinetic data were best fitted by liquid film diffusion and pseudo-first order kinetic models for DEL, but pseudo-second order kinetic model best fits crude oil sorption data by ADEL. Equilibrium crude oil sorption data were best fitted into Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms for ADEL and DEL respectively. Results suggest that ADEL is more suitable for crude oil sorption than DEL, therefore, possesses more potential for application in treatment of oil spillage.

Oil spill sorption using raw and acetylated sugarcane bagasse

In the recent decades oil spills in the aquatic environments are one of the major sources of environmental pollutions, which are steadily growing with the increase in oil consumption. Adsorption is a rapid and cost effective process to minimize the environmental impacts of oil spills and cleanup these pollutants. In this work, the crude oil sorption capacity was examined with raw sugarcane bagasse and acetylated sugarcane bagasse. Results show that the acetylated bagasse was significantly more oleophilic than the raw bagasse and acetylation reaction can increase bagasse oil sorption ability by about 90%. The maximum sorption capacities of acetylated bagasse were obtained about 11.3 g and 9.1 g in dry system (crude oil sorption) and oil layer sorption, respectively. The physicochemical characteristics of the sorbents such as composition, water solubility, moisture content and density were measured according to ASTM standard methods. Also Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of raw and acetylated bagasse was performed to investigate the effect of acetylation on sugarcane bagasse structure.

Morphological variations of micro-nanofibrous sorbents prepared by electrospinning and their effects on the sorption of crude oil

Crude oil spills have both a high environmental and economic impact, ensuring that its removal is an international concern. To aid in its removal, sorbents make of pure and recycled polystyrene (PS) polymers in the form of microfibers have been utilized in this regards. With an electrospinning (ES) technique used to make the fibrous sorbents. These sorbents have both a high surface area and a high degree of hydrophobicity. The effects of varying the electrospinning parameters, on the affinity of the fibrous sorbents prepared thereafter toward oil spills in artificial polluted seawater media was investigated. Such parameters include the polymer type, solvent type, applied voltage, feeding rate, spinning distance, degree of relative humidity and the internal diameter of the spinning nozzles. Results showed a strong correlation between fiber characteristics and their affinity toward the sorption of oil spills. A step-by-step optimization of the electrospinning parameters was shown to enhance the performance of the fibrous sorbents toward the treatment of crude oil spills.

Modeling of the sorption of crude oil on a polyurethane foam-powdered activated carbon composite

In an adsorption process, spontaneous accumulation of molecules takes place at the surface of solids as compared to the bulk phase. Adsorption is used for the recovery of undesirable components from a liquid mixture by establishing van der Waals bonds between the solid surface and the attracted components. Nowadays, adsorption is recognized as one of the major significant separation processes amid the physical, biological, and chemical processes. Activated carbon adsorption has been widely used for the purification of water and wastewater and for the treatment of numerous environmental problems. In this work, polyurethane (PU) foam-activated carbon composites were synthesized and characterized. The mixing of a number of well-defined ingredients produces flexible foam of alveolar structure after polymerization reactions. The prepared PU-powdered activated carbon composites were used to investigate the sorption of raw crude oil. Multiple experimental manipulations were combined to understand this behavior. The application of a design of experiments (DOE) method was used to model the adsorption kinetics.

Enhancing oil removal from water by immobilizing multi-wall carbon nanotubes on the surface of polyurethane foam

A surface modification method was carried out to enhance the light crude oil sorption capacity of polyurethane foam (PUF) through immobilization of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) on the foam surface at various concentrations. The developed sorbent was characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and tensile elongation test. The results obtained from thermogravimetric and tensile elongation tests showed the improvement of thermal and mechanical resistance of surface-modified foam. The experimental data also revealed that the immobilization of MWCNT on PUF surface enhanced the sorption capacity of light crude oil and reduced water sorption. The highest oil removal capacity was obtained for 1 wt% MWCNT on PUF surface which was 21.44% enhancement in light crude oil sorption compared to the blank PUF. The reusability of surface modified PUF was determined through four cycles of chemical regeneration using petroleum ether. The adsorption of light crude oil with 30 g initial mass showed that 85.45% of the initial oil sorption capacity of this modified sorbent was remained after four regeneration cycles. Equilibrium isotherms for adsorption of oil were analyzed by the Freundlich, Langmuir, Temkin, and Redlich–Peterson models through linear and non-linear regression methods. Results of equilibrium revealed that Langmuir isotherm is the best fitting model and non-linear method is a more accurate way to predict the parameters involved in the isotherms. The overall findings suggested the promising potentials of the developed sorbent in order to be efficiently used in large-scale oil spill cleanup.

Mechanism of Crude Oil and Petroleum-Product Sorption from Water Surfaces by Random Polypropylene Based Polymer Foam Sorbents

It is shown that polymer-foam sorbents are characterized by high sorption capacity and selectivity during their sorption of crude oil and petroleum products from a water surface. The volume weight, temperature, frequency of regeneration, etc. are found to affect crude oil, petroleum oils, and fuel sorption capacity. Sorbents with low volume weight have better petroleum and residual fuel oil sorption capacity, and those with high volume weight sorb diesel fuel and gasoline better. Polymer-foam sorbents based on the random copolymer polypropylene sorb petroleum and petroleum products from the surface of water effectively even after repeated regeneration. High sorption capacity, possibility of repeated regeneration, prolonged floatability, resistance to corrosive media, etc. open up the potential for use of these sorbents for localization and elimination of accidental spills of crude oil and petroleum products on the surface of water.

Rice Husk Ash for Oil Spill Cleanup

In this work, we report rice husk ash prepared via a thermal treatment process used as oil sorbents for oil spill cleanup. The oil sorbent with highly porous structures shows a crude oil sorption capacity of 15 g/g. The rice husk ash was studied on the basis of phase composition, microstructure and morphology using X-ray diffraction analysis, FTIR spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy(SEM). The results of the SEM studies strongly indicate that thermal treatment is a suitable method to improve structure of husk particles regarding porosity compared to virgin samples.

Application of Natural Sorbents in Crude Oil Adsorption

In last decades, oil spill pollution has become an important issue of concern due to its serious environmental impacts; therefore, necessary actions should be taken to prevent or reduce these types of pollution and their environmental consequences. Natural organic sorbents are emerging as proper choices for oil spill cleanup due to their availability, eco-friendliness, and low cost. In this study, phragmites australis, sugarcane leaves straw, and sugarcane bagasse were used for crude oil sorption in dry (only oil) systems. The results indicated that sugarcane bagasse had a higher oil sorption capacity compared to the others. Therefore, sugarcane bagasse was selected as the preferred sorbent and the effects of sorbent contact time and its particle size on oil adsorption capacity were evaluated for the systems of dry and crude oil layer on water. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of raw sugarcane bagasse for dry system and crude oil layer system was about 8 and 6.6 gram crude oil per gram sorbent respectively.

Crude Oil Sorption by Raw Cotton

Since the recent Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the need for environmentally friendly oil sorbents has intensified. This study deals with the sorption of crude oil by raw cotton, a biodegradable sorbent. To our best knowledge, the data related to crude oil sorption by unprocessed raw cotton and correlation with cotton characteristics such as micronaire, fineness, and maturity are unavailable. More importantly, our work quantifies the oil sorption (g/g) of low micronaire (immature) cotton. Results showed at the minimum level, low micronaire raw cotton has 30.5 g/g crude oil sorption capacity. Furthermore, the crude oil sorption capacity of low micronaire cotton was significantly higher than the sorption capacity of high micronaire cotton. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area and environmental scanning electron microscopy analyses support the correlation between the quality characteristics of raw cotton and its oil sorption capacity. In contrast to synthetic sorbents, raw cotton with its h...

Leaves and Roots of Pistia stratiotes as Sorbent Materials for the Removal of Crude Oil from Saline Solutions

The removal and sorption of oil from saline solutions by leaves (L) and roots (R) of Pistia stratiotes are described for the first time. The effects of biomass dose (0.5 and 1.0 g), contact time (30, 60, 90, and 120 min), and initial oil concentration (IOC = 979 ± 9.82, 1,968 ± 8.01, 3,935 ± 40.09, 7,778 ± 196.42, and 15,694 ± 196.41 mg L−1) on removal and sorption (q) were evaluated. Studies included a physicochemical characterization of the biomass. High oil removal (L = 93.71 ± 0.18 % and R = 80.93 ± 0.11 %) and sorption values (L = 2,904.47 ± 4.49 mg g−1 and R = 2,324.38 ± 29.29 mg g−1) were found. Such a high sorption might be related to factors such as a high surface area (128.38 ± 0.61 and 112.62 ± 5.17 m2 g−1, for leaves and roots, respectively), a high degree of relative hydrophobicity in the case of the leaves (71.05 ± 0.71 %), and capillary action. A high correlation was found between IOC and sorption, suggesting that the biomass could adsorb oil at IOCs higher than 15,694 ± 196.41 mg L−1. The Freundlich isotherm model was found to best describe crude oil sorption by leaves and roots of P. stratiotes. These sorbent materials could be good candidates to be used during an oil spill.

Adsorption of oils from pure liquid and oil–water emulsion on hydrophobic silica aerogels

This paper presents a study on the equilibrium and kinetics of sorption of generic vegetable cooking oil, motor oil, and crude oil from the liquid phase and from an oil-in-water emulsion on two different (0.7–1.2mm and 1.7–2.35mm size range) particulate hydrophobic silica aerogel (Cabot Nanogel®). The aerogel has a very high capacity (up to 15.1g of oil/g of aerogel) and rate (uptake time of 25–1200s) for adsorption of liquid oils. Thus Nanogel shows very attractive adsorption/absorption properties for oil spill clean-up applications. For adsorption of oil from an oil-in-water emulsion prepared in our laboratory, the rate is 5–10 times slower than that for adsorption of liquid oils or for organics such as toluene from aqueous solution. The adsorption capacity of the aerogel decreases with an increasing proportion of the surfactant used to stabilize the emulsion. When using an industrial oily wastewater sample consisting mainly of jet fuel, an even lower sorption capacity and slower sorption rate was observed due to the high stability of the oily wastewater emulsion.

Effect of Agitation on Sorption Behavior of Expanded Graphite for Methyl Orange in Water and Crude Oil Floated on Water

Expanded graphite was used for absorbing methyl orange in water and crude oil floated on water. The effect of agitating sorption system including crude oil or methyl orange, water and expanded graphite on the sorption behavior of expanded graphite for the two materials was investigated, and the sorption mechanism of expanded graphite for the two materials was discussed. The results show that agitating sorption system is advantageous for the methyl orange sorption, but disadvantageous for the crude oil sorption.

Sorption of crude oil by the nonliving biomass of pistia stratiotes

Sorption of crude oil by the nonliving biomass of pistia stratiotes

Equilibrium sorption of crude oil by expanded perlite using different adsorption isotherms at 298.15 k

During the past decades, a significant increase occurred in accidental oil spill in the aquatic environments. In this regard, oil spill in Marine freshwater is still considered as a major environmental hazard. In this research, the experimental data on the sorption capacity of expanded perlite to crude oil were correlated with the equilibrium isotherm of Langmuir, Freudlich, Tempkin and the three parameter Redlich-Peterson isotherms. The results obtained from each specified isotherms were compared and accuracy of the models were favorably discussed. Accuracy of each model using the error function were evaluated. Moreover, the effect of type of objective function on the final results was investigated. To bring up the idea; the sum of square of the average squares of the errors, the sum of the squares of the errors, the hybrid fractional error function, Marquardt’s percent standard deviation and Chi-Square objective function were used and the accuracy was obtained using each objective function. The results showed that the Redlich-Peterson model can better represent the equilibrium isotherm data for the crude oil to be up taken on the expanded perlite.

Sorption and decomposition of crude oil using exfoliated graphite/ZnO composites

Exfoliated graphite/ZnO composites (EG/ZnO) were prepared by impregnating expandable graphite with Zn(OH) 2, abruptly expanding at 700 °C for 40 s, and heating at 500 °C for 3 h. The composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), nitrogen adsorption and mercury porosimetry. The sorption capacity of the composites for spilled crude oil was measured and under UV irradiation the decomposition of the absorbed crude oil was investigated. The results showed that the composites provided with the adsorption and photocatalysis capacity for crude oil at the same time. The sorption capacity of the composites decreased gradually on increasing the ZnO content of the composites. Moreover, the decomposition ratio of the absorbed crude oil increased on increasing the ZnO content or decreasing the weight ratio of crude oil to composites.

Evaluation of flexible postconsumed polyurethane foams modified by polystyrene grafting as sorbent material for oil spills

AbstractThis work studies the possibility of reusing flexible postconsumed polyurethane foams modified by grafting with polystyrene as a sorbent material for the mitigation of oil spills. Different foams were evaluated via crude oil sorption and retention experiments, density, and morphological analyses. The foams with the best performance were chemically modified by grafting with polystyrene under different conditions (initiator concentration, styrene volume, and reaction time) in a system initiated by oxi‐reduction of Ce(IV) from an amoniacal ceric nitrate solution. A three‐level factorial design was used to study the influence of the variables. The foams were characterized via spectroscopy (XPS/ESCA and infrared) and water and oil sorption. Foam modification via grafting with polystyrene showed to be a viable alternative to increase its oil sorption ability. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009

Sorption of crude oil from a non-aqueous phase onto silica: the influence of aqueous pH and wetting sequence

Sorption of crude oil by mineral surfaces may affect its flow and recovery in porous media. Here, crude oil sorption from a toluene–heptane phase onto quartz and silica gel has been investigated both in the presence and absence of an aqueous phase, as a function of time, oil-to-sorbent ratio, pH, and wetting sequence. Steady-state is attained in roughly 24 h, with sorption following Freundlich isotherms. Maximum sorption capacity of initially dry quartz is roughly 2 mg oil per g; that of initially dry silica gel is greater than 8 mg per g. Sorption capacities of pre-wetted quartz and silica gel are approximately 0.5 and 0 mg oil per g, respectively. Aqueous pH only affects sorption by pre-wetted quartz, where sorption is greatest at pH 4, roughly 25% less at pH 7, and roughly 50% less at pH 2. The effect of pH and wetting sequence on oil sorption can be qualitatively described by calculating the electrostatic interaction energy between the mineral–water and oil–water interfaces.