Acetylation of oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber as an adsorbent for removal of crude oil

Abstract

Removal of oil spillage from the environment is a global concern. Various methods, including the use of fibers as sorbents, have been developed for oil spill control. Oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fiber is a plant biomass that may be acetylated by acetic anhydride using N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) as a catalyst; here, the extent of acetylation may be calculated in terms of weight percent gain (WPG). The modified fiber was used to remove Tapis and Arabian crude oils. The optimum time, temperature, and catalyst concentration were 4 h, 120 °C, and 3 %, respectively, and these parameters could achieve an 11.49 % increase in WPG. The optimized parameters improved the adsorption capacity of OPEFB fibers for crude oil removal. The acetylated OPEFB fibers were characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy to observe the functional groups available and morphology. Kinetic and isotherm studies were conducted using different contact times and oil/water ratios. The rate of oil sorption onto the OPEFB fibers can be adequately described by the pseudo-second-order equation. Adsorption studies revealed that adsorption of crude oil on treated OPEFB fiber could be best described by the Langmuir isotherm model.

Treatment of crude oil-contaminated water with chemically modified natural fiber

“…Similar findings were reported by Onwuka et al (2016) for crude oil sorption using acetylated and unacetylated Delonix regia pods (DRPs). However, these findings contradict reports by Asadpour et al (2016), which states that rate of oil sorption onto the OPEFB fibers can be adequately described by the pseudo-second-order equation. The findings in this research remain logical because chemical reaction (chemisorption) cannot occur between the active sites on the surface of the sorbents and crude oil without surface reaction (physisorption) taking place first.…”

Application of Sorbents for Oil Spill Cleanup Focusing on Natural-Based Modified Materials: A Review

“…According to Wong [ 49 ], mercerization increased the crude oil sorption capacity of soybean residue up to 5 g/g and the motor oil sorption capacity of cattail fibers up to 4 g/g ( Table 1 ). Moreover, rice husks have been applied as feedstock for the fabrication of mercerized natural-based oil sorbents [ 75 ]. According to Bazargan [ 75 ], alkali treatment was shown to alter the rice husk structure, creating a material with adequate oil sorption capacity (19 g/g).…”

“…Moreover, rice husks have been applied as feedstock for the fabrication of mercerized natural-based oil sorbents [ 75 ]. According to Bazargan [ 75 ], alkali treatment was shown to alter the rice husk structure, creating a material with adequate oil sorption capacity (19 g/g). The suggested method occurs at low temperatures, resulting in high product yields.…”

“…BET (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller) and FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared) analyses have indicated that microporosity, along with surface functional groups, are not the main controlling factors in the oil sorption capacity. The marine diesel uptake capacity was shown to have a strong inverse relationship with the bulk density [ 75 ]. The modified rice husk exhibits a reduced bulk density, which permits oil to diffuse internally into the substrate [ 75 ].…”

Preparation of an Efficient Oil-Spill Adsorbent Based on Wheat Straw

“…The degree of hydrophobicity of the sorbents was determined by the method proposed by Asadpour et al (2016).…”