Experimental Investigation of Various Local Fibers as

Sorbent Materials for Oil Spills

Introduction
Oil is one of the most important energy and raw material source for synthetic polymers
and chemicals worldwide. Whenever oil is explored, transported and stored and its derivatives
are used there is risk of spillage with the potential to cause significant environmental impact.
Pollution by petroleum oils affects sea life, economy, tourism and leisure activities because of
the coating properties of these materials. Oil spills harm the beauty of polluted sites, the strong
odor can be felt miles away and the excessive growth of green algae alters sea color and the
landscape. When oil is spilled into a marine environment, it is subject to several processes
including spreading, drifting, evaporation, dissolution, photolysis, biodegradation and formation
of water–oil emulsions. Oil spreading is likely to occur, especially if the sea surface is still. In the
peculiar environment of rivers, pollutants are driven along the stream. In open seas or in
harbors, the consequences of pollutants are often severe because of the action of local or tidal
currents (Bucas and Saliot, 2002).
Two broad categories of sorption phenomena, adsorption and absorption, can be
differentiated by the degree to which the sorbate molecule interacts with the sorbent phase
and its freedom to migrate within the sorbent. In adsorption, solute accumulation is in general
restrict to the surface or interface between the solution and adsorbent. In contrast, absorption
is a process in which solute, transferred from one phase to the other, interpenetrates the
sorbent phase by at least several nanometers. Sorption results from a variety of different types
of attractive forces between solute, solvent and sorbent molecules. Chemical (covalent or
hydrogen bonds), electrostatic (ion–ion, ion–dipole) and physical (Coulombic, Kiesom energy,
Debye energy, London dispersion energy) forces act together, but usually one type prevails in a
particular situation (Weber et al., 1991).
Despite the fact that synthetic polymers as polypropylene are said to represent ideal
materials for marine oil-spill recovery due to their low density, low water uptake and excellent
physical and chemical resistance, these sorbents are not renewable and biodegradable.
Vegetable fibers are environmentally friendly materials, with densities close to that of
synthetic polymers or even lower, and may show high oil sorption capacity at a usually low cost
(Wei et al., 2003).
The aim of this work is therefore to investigate various local fibers, namely mixed leaves
residues, mixed sawdust, sisal, coir, sponge-gourd and silk-floss fibers as potential sorbent
materials for oil spills.
 Methodology

The Oil Adsorption - Short Test

(based on A new standard protocol, designated ASTM F726-99, has been adopted by
the Environment Canada Sorbent laboratory. This protocol tests the performance of sorbents by
measuring the quantity of test liquid a given quantity of sorbent material will pick up.)
(15 minutes) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SCIENCE APPLICATIONS INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION (SAIC
CANADA) This procedure is designed to determine a sorbent's pick-up ratio when placed in a pure test
liquid under stagnant conditions. The sqrbent sample is initially weighed and the value recorded. A test
cell is filled with a layer of test liquid to a depth of approximately 80 mm. The sorbent sample is placed in
a fine mesh basket and lowered into the test cell. After 15 minutes, the sorbent is removed from the cell
and allowed to drain for 30 seconds (sorbents tested in Heavy Oil is allowed to drain for 2 minutes). The
sorbent is then transferred to a weighing pan and the weight recorded. All tests are conducted in
triplicate.