Dynamics of edible oils/water separation using Milkweed floss fiber

Abstract

One of the environmental oil pollutants is kitchen sewage, which is made up of a mixture of water and cooking oil, particularly frying oils. By trapping the oil droplets in their fibrous network, the milkweed plant's inherent cellulose fibers may separate the oil from the water. Milkweed packing densities of 0.07, 0.09, and 0.1 g/cm3; the fiber arrangement inside the kit (regular and random); and the liquid flow rates of 0.04 and 0.02 m3/h were tested in order to assess the dynamics of oil/water separation in milkweed filters. The adsorbent kit manufactured from milkweed fruit fibers may adsorb more oil at a low flow rate than at a high flow rate, according to the findings of the oil adsorption capacity tests. The oil absorption capacity of the adsorbent kit is also influenced by the fiber packing density; hence, a high packing density results in a reduction in oil absorption capacity. Contrarily, the positioning of the fibers within the adsorption kit is crucial because regular arrangement of the fibers in the direction of the sewage flow path will increase oil absorption more than tangled and random placement. The milkweed floss fibers were tested for water wettability, and the results showed that they are hydrophobic, with a water contact angle of roughly 140o. Nevertheless, performing the same test in the fiber's channel is virtually impossible. To solve this issue, a novel analytical computation of the oil's contact angle was performed, and the conclusions were supported by in-process microscopic photographs of oil absorption.