Oil Spill Cleanup Research Articles

Superhydrophobic Nanodiamond-Functionalized Melamine Sponge for Oil/Water Separation

Fabrication of absorbent materials foroil/water separation is an important ecological pursuit for oil spill clean-up and organic pollutants' removal. In this study, nanodiamonds (NDs), a promising member of the carbon family, were functionally modified by the covalent linking of octadecylamine (ODA). Subsequently, the superhydrophobic sponge with hierarchical microstructures was fabricated by embedding ND-ODA into a melamine sponge (MS) skeleton via a simple immersion-drying process. The as-prepared sponge (ND-ODA@PDMS@MS) showed superhydrophobic properties with a water contact angle of 155 ± 2°. For various oils and organic solvents, ND-ODA@PDMS@MS possesses excellent absorption capacity (26.65-55.64 g/g) and oil/water separation efficiency (above 98.6%). Furthermore, the adsorption capacity to crude oil remained relatively stable in highly acidic, alkaline, and salty conditions, ensuring the application in the clean-up of industrial oily sewages and marine oil spills. Besides absorbing oil for a single time, ND-ODA@PDMS@MS also exhibited satisfactory performance in continuous oil/water separation. Therefore, this work provides a facile strategy to produce robust and efficient absorbent materials for oil/water separation in large-scale oil and organic solvent clean-ups.

Innovative nanostructured magnetite/wool/polysiloxane composite as magnetic adsorbent for oil spill removal

We report herein the synthesis and characterization of a new nanostructured composite (Wool-Fe 3 O 4 -Polysiloxane) aimed to be applied as a magnetic adsorbent for oil spill cleanup. The synthesized composite was characterized by the physical–chemical instrumental techniques (XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDX, and VSM). The hysteresis loops from the VSM measurement disclosed a magnetic saturation value of M S =5.47 emu/g that was sufficient to induce magnetic properties to the composite material. The produced magnetic adsorbent showing hydrophobic properties was successfully tested for the sorption of petroleum products. Kinetic data of oily liquids retention and dripping were modeled by using the exponential and hyperbolic regression equations with three parameters. The hyperbolic kinetic model suggested higher maximal sorption capacity at time zero (t=0), that is, 14.486, 12.896, and 3.501 g/g, for motor oils 15W, 5W, and n-dodecane, respectively. The advanced recovery (80–92%) of retained oils from the spent sorbent was done by centrifugation.

Super-hydrophobic graphene-coated thermoplastic polyurethane porous monolith with superior photothermal effect for solar-assisted efficient cleanup of crude oil spill

Frequent occurrences of oil spill accidents have posed a serious threat to ecological system and human health, hence it is imperative to explore new-typed absorbent materials to efficiently clean up high-viscosity crude oil in an environmentally-friendly way. Herein we reported a reduced graphene oxide-wrapped and fluoroalkylsilane-modified thermoplastic polyurethane porous monolith (abbr. F-rGO@TPU monolith) with superior photothermal effect for solar-driven high-efficiency cleanup of crude oil spill. Owing to superior superhydrophobicity (water contact angle of 153°) and porosity (87.4 %), the as-prepared F-rGO@TPU monolith possessed high saturated absorption capacity (6.5–53.7 g/g) and splendid oil/water separation efficiency (over 99.3 %) for various low-viscosity oils/organic solvents. Excellent reversible compressibility and fatigue resistance (1000 compression cycles under 80 % strain) allowed the monolith to repetitively absorb oil via simple manual squeezing. By virtue of the outstanding photothermal effect of reduced graphene oxide coating, the F-rGO@TPU monolith exhibited almost full absorption (96.0 %) of solar spectrum (wavelength range of 250–2500 nm) and efficient light-to-heat conversion capability (achieving 80 °C in 5 min under 1.0 kW/m2 solar irradiation), enabling it to in situ reduce the viscosity of crude oil for rapid absorption. More importantly, the solar-heated monolith could continuously and fast separate crude oil/water mixture by a pump-assisted absorption device (crude oil flux of 510 kg/(m2·h)), revealing immense potential in oil spill remediation.

Associations between airborne crude oil chemicals and symptom-based asthma.

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill response and cleanup (OSRC) workers were exposed to airborne total hydrocarbons (THC), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, o-, m-, and p-xylenes and n-hexane (BTEX-H) from crude oil and PM2.5 from burning/flaring oil and natural gas. Little is known about asthma risk among oil spill cleanup workers. We assessed the relationship between asthma and several oil spill-related exposures including job classes, THC, individual BTEX-H chemicals, the BTEX-H mixture, and PM2.5 using data from the Gulf Long-Term Follow-up (GuLF) Study, a prospective cohort of 24,937 cleanup workers and 7,671 nonworkers following the DWH disaster. Our analysis largely focused on the 19,018 workers without asthma before the spill who had complete exposure, outcome, and covariate information. We defined incident asthma 1-3years following exposure using both self-reported wheeze and self-reported physician diagnosis of asthma. THC and BTEX-H were assigned to participants based on measurement data and work histories, while PM2.5 used modeled estimates. We used modified Poisson regression to estimate risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between spill-related exposures and asthma and a quantile-based g-computation approach to explore the joint effect of the BTEX-H mixture on asthma risk. OSRC workers had greater asthma risk than nonworkers (RR: 1.60, 95% CI: 1.38, 1.85). Higher estimated THC exposure levels were associated with increased risk in an exposure-dependent manner (linear trend test p<0.0001). Asthma risk also increased with increasing exposure to individual BTEX-H chemicals and the chemical mixture: A simultaneous quartile increase in the BTEX-H mixture was associated with an increased asthma risk of 1.45 (95% CI: 1.35,1.55). With fewer cases, associations were less apparent for physician-diagnosed asthma alone. THC and BTEX-H were associated with increased asthma risk defined using wheeze symptoms as well as a physician diagnosis.

Electrospinning fabrication of magnetic nanoparticles-embedded polycaprolactone (PCL) sorbent with enhanced sorption capacity and recovery speed for spilled oil removal

The use of oil-soaked sorbents in the recovery and cleaning of oil spills presents challenges due to disposal. Recently, magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) based collection has been gaining interest as a new technique to lower the amount of labor required to treat oil spills. In this study, we devised a new method for the preparation of a magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) embedded polycaprolactone (PCL) sorbent with oleophilic and environmentally friendly features, capable of bring easily collected under a magnetic field. Compared with conventional polypropylene sorbents, the MNP embedded PCL sorbent (MNP/PCL) displayed excellent Arabian light (AL) crude oil sorption capacity (45.7gg-1) and decreased the absorption time of the oil-soaked sorbent due to its electrospun structure and efficient distribution of hydrophobic MNPs. Furthermore, the MNP/PCL based sorbent became fully pyrolyzed under certain temperatures and conditions. The MNP embedded PCL-based sorbent demonstrated broad applicability and utility in large scale oil spill projects.

Superhydrophobic polypropylene sorbent derived from discarded face masks: A highly efficient adsorbent for oil spill sorbent.

Globally, an estimated 130 billion face masks are used and disposed of every month. Thus, recycling or upcycling discarded face masks has attracted significant attention due to economic benefits and environmental concerns. To reduce the amount of used face masks going to waste, this study features a superhydrophobic face mask prepared by simple chemical modification with environmentally preferable alkane solvents (n-hexane, n-heptane, and n-decane), that is effective as a sorbent for oil spill cleanup. All alkanes examined increased the surface roughness of the face masks and improved face mask hydrophobicity. The heptane treated face mask (at 90°C for 1h), can adsorbed Arabian light crude oil up to 21 times of their weight on the water surface. In addition, chloroform, toluene, gasoline, and diesel were adsorbed 18, 13, 8 and 16 times, respectively. More importantly, heptane has a high recycling efficiency as a treatment solvent and is reusable for at least 10 cycles of mask surface treatment. Consequently, this inexpensive and easily fabricated material is a promising development in waste face mask (WFM) upcycling.

Superhydrophobic sponge decorated with hydrophobic MOF-5 nanocoating for efficient oil-water separation and antibacterial applications

Increased discharge of industrial oily effluent threatens the environment and human health; thus, researchers are developing effective methods to separate oil from water. Recently, superhydrophobic surfaces with oil-water separation properties have received attention. In this study, we proposed a simple method to fabricate superhydrophobic/superoleophilic sponges decorated with zinc (Zn)-based metal-organic frameworks (MOF-5) with oil-water separation and antibacterial properties. The synthesized superhydrophilic MOF-5 nanoparticles were hydrophobized using low surface energy 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltrichlorosilane (PFOTS) material. Finally, a simple dip-coating process was performed to prepare superhydrophobic sponge after altering hydrophobic MOF-5 (H-MOF-5) with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The synergistic effect between the H-MOF-5 and low surface energy PDMS resulted in superhydrophobicity. The fabricated sponge showed water repellency with a high water contact angle (WCA) of 156° and a sliding angle (SA) of 6°. In addition, it exhibited extraordinary oil-water separation and antibacterial properties. Superhydrophobic sponges can be used to remove light or heavy oil-water mixtures using absorption under stirring and a gravity-driven separation approach, respectively. Continuous separation of various types of oil/organic solvent-water mixtures was demonstrated using a vacuum-assisted method with separation efficiency >98%. The sponge displayed exceptional reusability, maintaining a high separation efficiency of over 95% and retaining WCA at 153° after 10 cycles. The antibacterial property of the copper substrate modified with superhydrophobic PDMS@H-MOF-5 coating was investigated against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria using the inhibition zone method. In comparison to an uncoated copper surface, the superhydrophobic surface demonstrated significant bacterial resistance efficacy with a 30 mm zone of inhibition. The proposed approach offers new opportunities for preparing a superhydrophobic sponge with hydrophobic MOF-5 nanoparticles for various applications, including oil-spill cleaning and organic pollutant removal on water surfaces.

Flexible polyurethane foam with improved oleophilic and hydrophobic properties for oil spill cleaning

Three chemical compounds (A1, A2, and A3) with long alkyl chains (C5, C8, and C10) were used in this work to improve the oleophilic and hydrophobic properties of blank flexible polyurethane (FPU) cubes for oil spill clean-up. Water sorption was observed to be reduced by almost 50% when compared to blank FPU, while crude oil sorption of modified FPU cubes was raised by A1 = 37.16, A2 = 42.68, and A3 = 45.94 g/g, as well as diesel fuel sorption by A1 = 36.72, A2 = 39.80, and A3 = 41.68 g/g. In the water-oil system, the sorption capacity of FPU cubes modified with three new oleophilic organic compounds was increased by A1 = 43.47, A2 = 44.49, and A3 = 45.15 g/g for crude oil spills and by A1 = 34.07, A2 = 34.16, and A3 = 36.05 g/g for diesel fuel spills, compared to blank FPU cubes of 27.29 and 22.28. The findings suggest that the modified FPU cubes could be utilized to clean up oil spills successfully.

Robust multifunctional rGO/MXene@PPS fibrous membrane for harsh environmental applications

Efficient cleanup of crude oil spills and wastewater treatment in harsh conditions remains a big challenge due to the absent of robust membrane materials. Herein, a kind of reduced graphene oxide and MXene (Ti3C2Tx) decorated PPS fibrous membrane with super chemical-resistance for all-weather cleanup of crude oil via Joule heat and solar-driven heat performance was reported. With the assist of the Joule heat and photothermal effect, the crude oil adsorption rate of composite membrane improved by more than 97 %. More importantly, the robust membrane still remained excellent oil/water separation performance even under strong acid and alkali conditions. Meanwhile, the gravity driven oil (dichloromethane)/water separation flux of composite membrane reached 11,502 L m-2h−1 with a separation efficiency up to 99.98 %. Moreover, the composite membrane could realize solar-driven evaporation for seawater desalination due to its great photothermal properties, the evaporation rate could be up to 1.235 kg m-2h−1 under one sun. The composite membrane also exhibited great electrical conductivity and EMI shielding performance for radiation protection with efficiency of 61.9 dB. This robust multifunctional fibrous membrane design offers a progressive approach for the efficient cleanup of viscous crude oil spills, oil/water separation, solar desalination and EMI shielding under harsh environments.

Experimental study on burning behavior of n-heptane in ice cavities with different aspect ratios

In situ burning is a widely used method in oil spill cleanup. This paper aims to study the burning behavior of n-heptane in ice cavities with aspect ratios ranging from 1 to 10. The depth and opening area of ice cavities were 9 cm and about 100 cm2, respectively, for all cases before ignition. Results show that the dynamic variation process of burning zone is different in square cavities and cavities with aspect ratio larger than one. For square cavities, the flame accumulates in the middle area of the cavity after ignition. For cavities with aspect ratio larger than one, at the early stage, there are unevenly distributed clusters of pulsating flames; and afterwards, the flames at different positions are gradually connected as a whole. A ring-shaped flame is observed in all cases before the extinguishing, and through theoretical analysis, it is believed that this phenomenon may be caused by the surface tension driven flow inside the water layer. In each case, at the same height, invasion lengths, i.e., horizontal distance between the cavity edge before and after burning, along the short and long sides are basically the same (average relative standard deviation: 1.60 %). And the invasion lengths show a non-monotonic trend of increasing first and then decreasing slightly with height in all cases. In addition, at the same height, the opening area of cavity increases as aspect ratio increases. For cavities with the same initial fuel layer thickness and fuel volume, the variation of aspect ratio results in little change in the growth and decay rate of mass loss rate, with the maximum relative standard deviation of 8.84 %. Heat is lost via thermal radiative penetration, conduction of fuel layer to ice walls, and conduction of fuel layer to water. Based on calculation, it is found the sharp decrease of mass loss rate cannot only be attributed to conductive heat loss, thermal radiative penetration is also an important part, which even accounts for about one-third of the total heat loss.

Solar-heating superhydrophobic modified melamine sponge for efficient recovery of viscous crude oil

Developing self-heating sorbents for rapid clean-up of viscous oil spills by using clean solar energy is attracting attention. Still, simple and scalable fabrication approaches of solar-heating sorbents remain challenging. Herein, a facile and practical modification strategy was presented to develop a solar-heating modified melamine sponge (rGO/CNT/MS) by dip-coating layer-by-layer (LBL) electrostatic assembly of GO and CNT with opposite charges onto MS skeleton followed by thermal reduction, without any complicated microfabrication and hydrophobic modification processes. Based on the intercalation of CNT into rGO layers and strong conjugation/hyperconjugation synergy of rGO and CNT, the light sorption ability, photothermal conversion, hydrophobicity and mechanical properties of the rGO/CNT/MS sorbent were further improved compared to rGO/MS and CNT/MS. The surface temperature could reach 75 ℃ in 100 s under 1 sun radiation (1 kW m−2), which would effectively absorb crude oil by in-situ sunlight-heating to reduce its viscosity. The sorption speed increased by about 30 times compared with no sunlight irradiation, and the continuous sorption capacity was up to 1.71 g/cm2 at 610 s driven by pump force. The easily-prepared solar-assisted rGO/CNT/MS with high photothermal performance, corrosion resistance, mechanical compressibility, coating firmness and oil sorption ability showed huge potential application in oil spill recovery.

Accelerated marsh erosion following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill confirmed, ameliorated by planting

Multiple studies have examined the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on coastal marsh shoreline erosion. Most studies have concluded that the spill increased shoreline erosion (linear retreat) in oiled marshes by ~ 100–200% for at least 2–3 years. However, two studies have called much of this prior research into question, due to potential study design flaws and confounding factors, primarily tropical cyclone influences and differential wave exposure between oiled (impact) and unoiled (reference) sites. Here we confirm that marsh erosion in our field experiment was substantially increased (112–233%) for 2 years in heavily oiled marsh after the spill, likely due to vegetation impacts and reduced soil shear strength attributed to the spill, rather than the influences of hurricanes or wave exposure variation. We discuss how our findings reinforce prior studies, including a wider-scale remote sensing analysis with similar study approach. We also show differences in the degree of erosion among oil spill cleanup treatments. Most importantly, we show that marsh restoration planting can drastically reduce oiled marsh erosion, and that the positive influences of planting can extend beyond the immediate impact of the spill.

Scheduling Optimization of Offshore Oil Spill Cleaning Materials Considering Multiple Accident Sites and Multiple Oil Types

Coastal governments have been preventing and controlling pollution in the marine environment by enhancing the construction of hardware and software facilities. The dispatch of offshore oil spill cleaning materials must be upgraded and optimized to cope with repeated offshore oil leak incidents while simultaneously improving cleaning efficiency and the ability to resist oil spill hazards. Accordingly, we set up a multiobjective optimization model with time window constraints to solve the scheduling optimization problem of offshore oil spill accidents with multiple locations and oil types. This model integrates the minimal sum of fixed costs, fuel consumption costs, maximum load violation costs, and time window penalty costs to solve the scheduling optimization problem of an offshore oil spill accident. An improved genetic algorithm is designed to solve the proposed mathematical model effectively and to make a scientific decontaminated decision-scheduling scheme. The practicality of the model and algorithm is validated by using a specific instance, demonstrating that the suggested method can effectively solve the schedule optimization problem for cleaning materials.

Cell Membrane Mimetic Coating for Excellent Antifouling, Antibacterial Corrosion, and Self‐Cleaning Separation of Massive Oil–Water Mixtures

AbstractMassive oil–water mixtures produced from both industries and frequent oil spill incidents have threatened water ecosystems. A highly efficient separation membrane with ultrahigh filtration flux and excellent antifouling performance is created to deal with oil–water mixtures. The filtration membrane is fabricated by anchoring a phosphorylcholine copolymer (PMEN) on polydopamine (PDA)‐precoated stainless steel mesh (SSM) surfaces, forming a durable cell outer membrane mimetic coating. The as‐prepared SSM/PDA/PMEN membranes exhibit superhydrophilicity and high separation efficiency (≥99.98%) for different oil–water mixtures. Furthermore, the water flux of separating 30 v/v% crude oil–water mixture can reach as high as 70 000 L m–2 h–1 and remains higher than 30 000 L m–2 h–1 without any additional washing during 100 cycles of successive separations in a dead‐end filtration device. More importantly, substantial corrosion of stainless steel surfaces by bacteria is prevented on the cell membrane mimetic coating by its excellent antibacterial adhesion performance. These unprecedented underwater anticrude oil‐fouling and antibacterial‐corrosion properties, as well as the ultrahigh flux and high separation efficiency of SSM/PDA/PMEN membranes, are highly promising in the cleanup of massive oily water and oil spills in the near future.

Superhydrophobic starch-based cryogels modified with silylated magnetic nanoparticles for oil spill cleanup

Superhydrophobic smart adsorbents have attracted wide attention for the cleanup of oil spill that endangers the aquatic ecosystem. Herein, a super-water-repellent coating (HOS/Fe3O4) was achieved through hydrolytic condensation of hexadecyltrimethoxysilane and tetraethyl orthosilicate in the presence of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The coating was then introduced onto the surface of starch cryogel (SC) by spray-coating technique to fabricate the superhydrophobic and magnetic starch-based adsorbent (HOS/Fe3O4@SC). The surface chemical composition and hierarchical micro/nanostructures that contribute to the high water contact angle (>151°) and low sliding angle (<5°) of the as-obtained material were characterized in detail. The HOS/Fe3O4@SC exhibited excellent water repellent, self-cleaning, and anti-fouling properties. The structural support and stable chemical bonding endow the material with good mechanical and chemical durability. The HOS/Fe3O4@SC also possessed reasonable adsorption capacities to various organic solvents, and its oil absorption kinetics was also comprehensively studied. The HOS/Fe3O4@SC can be applied for heavy oil absorption underwater and magnetically guided oil slick cleaning. This novel starch-based absorbent exhibits promising application in tackling oil contamination in complex environments.

Oil sorption properties of cotton comber noil/recycled polyester blended needle punched nonwoven fabrics- An optimization study

Oil spill pollution is a constant threat to the environment nowadays. The treatment of an oil spill remains a challenge to environmental scientists. Among the various cleanup methods available, the use of sorbents for oil spill cleanups is a popular approach. In this work, an attempt has been made to produce cotton comber noil /recycled polyester needle punched nonwoven fabrics for the oil spill clean-up process. Box–Behnken experimental design is used to optimise the parameters such as cotton comber noil /recycled polyester blend proportion, needle punching density and areal density for maximum oil sorption capacity. At 70:30 cotton comber noil /recycled polyester blend proportion, 64.94 needle punching density and 100 GSM, maximum oil sorption was achieved. The maximum oil sorption achieved in the case of crude oil and vegetable oil is 45.90 g/g and 32.30 g/g respectively. The cotton comber noil/recycled polyester needle punched nonwoven fabric showed a stable water bead morphology with a static contact angle of 133.6. The present work indicates that the cotton comber noil/recycled polyester needle punched nonwoven fabric (70/30) is a potential sustainable product for oil spill removal applications.

Case study on Experimental study of Oil Spill Clean-up Methods for More Effective Handling of Future Accidents

Abstract: Petroleum (oil) is an essential natural resource for modern industrial society; it is used to produce energy and materials, which serve a variety of manufacturing, industrial and consumer needs. However, extensive oil extraction, transport and use have resulted in many accidental oil spills. USA Today reported in 2010 that the number of spills in the US has more than quadrupled over the previous decade. Oil spills pose hazards to both humans and wildlife, and adversely affect local ecosystems. It is therefore important for governments, industry and emergency managers to understand, appreciate, and hopefully improve strategies for oil cleanup. It is essential to review both the strategies that have worked and those that have not, so that optimal methods for handling such catastrophic events can be clearly identified. This report will serve as a case study analysis to assess best- and worst-case oil cleanup methods; by categorizing previous events based on gravity of the spill, cleanup success levels, length of time for remediation, and type of affected environment, more effective strategies can be developed for Evaluating and managing cleanup efforts. This includes more rapid oil spill cleanup with minimal impact on the local environment. The case studies reveal that human error is the single most important factor correlating with risk of oil spills; therefore, more effort should be spent towards prevention than on the development of new technologies for cleanup response. However, when the inevitable oil spill occurs, bioremediation and dispersant application are concluded to be the preferred methods.

Understanding the effects of cellulose fibers from various pre-treated barley straw on properties of aerogels

This article for the first time reports the effects of properties of cellulose fibers obtained from various pre-treatments on the properties of aerogels. Here, cellulose fibers with different properties were produced by pre-treating barley straw with three different pre-treatment methods: alkaline, dilute acid, and acidified glycerol at 100 °C for 2 h. The results showed that the difference in composition of fibers lead to the difference in properties of aerogels. The aerogel prepared from fibers with the highest cellulose content (80% from acidified glycerol) had the largest surface area of 49.5 m2/g, whereas the aerogel with the lowest lignin content (6% from alkaline) has the lowest density and highest porosity of 0.0274 g/cm3 and 98.17%, respectively. Also, it shows that aerogels prepared from cellulose fibers with higher hemicellulose content and porosity had higher adsorption capacity towards methylene blue, suggesting that hemicellulose content and porosity of aerogels govern the adsorption capacity via electrostatic attraction and pore-filling. All synthesized cellulose aerogel had the oil adsorption capacity up to 30 times of its own weight and excellent storage capacity. The oil was easily recovered via a mechanical approach. This suggests the cellulose aerogels can be used as oil-spillage clean-up.

Solar-assisted efficient cleanup of high-viscosity oil spills using magnetic porous biochar

Efficient cleanup of oil spills is still a global challenge due to the high viscosity of crude oil and complicated topographic features. Herein, magnetic porous carbon powders (MPCs) with photothermal effect prepared at a Fe(NO3)3: bamboo mass ratio was 1/1 carbonized at 700 °C. After modifying with the n-octadecylamine, the oleophilic MPCs exhibited rapid and selective absorption of different oils from polluted water, with an optimal absorption capacity of 3.2–8.1 g/g. Since oil's viscosity is highly temperature-sensitive, MPCs with photothermal characteristics offer apparent advantages in absorbing high viscosity oil. Moreover, due to the incorporation of magnetic components, powder-like MPCs can be conveyed to a specified oil pollution spot (including gaps or cracks) conveniently and collected through a remote magnetic field. This work demonstrates a simple and low-cost way of designing and producing oil/water separation materials, particularly floating high-viscosity oil recovery.

Environmental friendly Polyacrylonitrile nanofiber mats encapsulated and coated with green algae mediated Titanium oxide nanoparticles for efficient oil spill adsorption

Oil spill causes extreme environmental damage, from aquatic life to seabirds, disrupting the entire ecosystem. Herein, we have synthesized high scale, economical and bio-compatible, green algae mediated Titanium oxide (TiO2) nanoparticles and Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber mats. We have studied the effect of encapsulation and coating of TiO2 nanoparticles over nanofiber mats for highly efficient oil spill adsorption. TiO2 encapsulated and coated PAN (TECP) nanofibers showed a maximum of 62.34 g g−1 adsorption capacity of petroleum oil from the water surface. Moreover, the composite mats show maximum adsorption within 45 s for up to 5 repeated cycles. Further, it has been observed that the adsorption capacity has increased by increasing the weight of the composite nanofiber mats, which confirms its commercial applicability. Thus, this work provides rapid, large-scale, economical, bio-compatible, and highly effective adsorbents for oil spill cleaning and extraction over natural waterbodies.