Novel Coconut Oil Based Magnetite Nanofluid as an Ecofriendly Oil Spill Remover

Abstract

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.

A review on zeolitic imidazolate frameworks use for crude oil spills cleanup

“…Two main factors influence the sorption capacity of ZIFs; namely, their hydrophobicity and their specific surface area Nabeel Rashin et al, 2014). Wettability is assessed by the water contact angle (WCA).…”

Superhydrophobic Fe3O4/OA Magnetorheological Fluid for Removing Oil Slick from Water Surfaces Effectively and Quickly

“…Compared with other magnetic composite materials, MRFs are ecofriendly materials and show good oil removal performance. Rashin et al 21 removed oil slick (motor oil) with the coconut oil-based MRF, and the oil removal efficiency was 91%. But coconut oil can cause secondary pollution and affect the reuse of oil slick.…”

“…Compared with other magnetic composite materials, MRFs are ecofriendly materials and show good oil removal performance. Rashin et al 21 secondary pollution, Tian et al 22 used the lubricant oil-based MRF for removing oil slick (lubricant oil), and the efficiency of the lubricant oil-based MRF exceeds by 90%. However, these oil removal experiments of MRF are carried out on a fresh water surface, and the influence of water salinity was not investigated.…”

Magnetic Nanostructured White Graphene for Oil Spill and Water Cleaning

“…16 Regarding hydrophobicity, in some cases the usage of surfactants or grafting polymers around magnetic nanoparticles is needed to introduce oleophilic characteristics to their surface. 17 Furthermore, using other magnetic nanomaterial has been also reported for oil spill cleanup, such as graphene aerogel/Fe 3 O 4 / polystyrene composites, 18 magnetic macroporous carbon nanotubes (CNT), 19 and magnetic graphene foam. 20 They showed an outstanding performance in oil spill removal and strong recyclability with oil removal capacities of 40, 56, and 28 g/g, respectively.…”

“…Their effectiveness is limited by two main factors: the specific surface area and particles hydrophobicity. , Previous studies about magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles have reported specific surface areas around 96 m 2 /g . Regarding hydrophobicity, in some cases the usage of surfactants or grafting polymers around magnetic nanoparticles is needed to introduce oleophilic characteristics to their surface . Furthermore, using other magnetic nanomaterial has been also reported for oil spill cleanup, such as graphene aerogel/Fe 3 O 4 / polystyrene composites, magnetic macroporous carbon nanotubes (CNT), and magnetic graphene foam …”