Investigation of Oil Spill Absorbents Using Different Materials

• Main Author: FOO, JERRY KOK XIANG
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS 2011
• Subjects: T Technology (General)
• Online Access: http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/10524/1/2011%20-%20Investigation%20of%20oil%20spill%20absorbent%20using%20different%20materials.pdf; http://utpedia.utp.edu.my/10524/

Catastrophic oil spills such as that in Gulf of Mexico remind us of the necessity of prompt action to develop an environmentally friendly, cost-effective and large scale technology to minimize environmental consequences caused by such disasters. This research will provide an alternative for oil spill absorbent using organic vegetable products. The applications are for offshore purposes. Three materials that are used for the study are: kapok ( Ceiba Pentandra), coconut husk (Coir), and human hair. Dulang crude oil and Shell diesel oil were used throughout the experiment together with sea water from Teluk Batik. The interfacial tension test that was carried out shown that kapok has a lower contact angle compare to Coir and Human hair. This proved that Kapok is a better natural absorbent for oil spill combat. Oil absorbency test was conducted to measure the oleophilic/hydrophobic capability of each material. All of the three materials were found to have low hydrophobic and high oleophilic characteristic. However, human hair required five times the standardize amount to able to absorb all the oil present in the experiment. It was also found that Kapok can absorb up to five times its own weight. Coir suuk to the bottom after a few minutes which complicate the retrieving process. Overall, the results suggested that organic vegetable products can replace the existing synthetic sorbents for a more environmental friendly method to combat oil spill pollution.