The
removal of oil spills from a water surface has huge industrial
importance, in view of ecological safety. A novel, ecofriendly coconut
oil based magnetite nanofluid is prepared by the coprecipitation method,
for removing oil contaminants from water. Magnetic particles with
face centered cubic crystal structure and superparamagnetic behavior
are prepared and used to get a stable suspension in coconut oil. The
superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity of the nanofluid are examined
through contact angle measurements. The fluid offers a contact angle
of 166° which is greater than the critical angle of 150°,
indicating its superhydrophobic nature. This paper demonstrates the
usage of the magnetite–coconut oil nanofluid in the removal
of an oil spill from water with 91% efficiency. The mechanism is based
on the selective absorbance property of superhydrophobic and superoleophilic
nanofluids, which can collect contaminant oil while completely repelling
the water molecules. When magnetic nanofluid is added to oil contaminated
water, the nonpolar hydrophobic part of the contaminant oil gets attached
to the carrier fluid (coconut oil) through London dispersive forces;
this is then collected along with the magnetic nanofluid, by applying
a magnetic field. The proposed method is an efficient biocompatible
one that can be used on a large scale, for the cleanup of oil spills
on water surfaces.
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