Examination, assessment of the ability for treating oil spillage by natural materials

Abstract

     Oil spillage that happened in river or sea has caused very serious impacts on the water environment, aquatic ecosystem and expensive to overcome the consequences. Using the natural material for oil and grease absorption is considered as an effective and environmental friendly solution. This paper presents the examination and assessment of the absorption efficiency of the solvents (DO0.05S oil, distilled water, river water and sea water) that is done by the various natural adsorbents (having the porous structure, high in the specific surface area) such as sugar cane residue, maize trunk, eichhornia trunk (belonging to water hyacinth family), groundnut shell, at a laboratory scale through determining the quantity of the natural adsorbents before and after adsorption process. The results show that eichhornia trunk can absorb the non-polarised solvent (DO oil 0.05S) very well, obtain the value from 7.09 to 7.55g/g, higher than that of the other polarised solvents such as: distilled water (4-5.65 g/g), river water (2.9-4.5 g/g), sea water (2.82 - 3.83 g/g). Sugar cane residue, maize trunk and groundnut shell has a trend of absorption of the polarised solvent with DO oil (0.05S) which is better than that of the eichhornia trunk at a same condition. In the fully occupied oil media, the eichhornia trunk proves to be more durable in comparison with three above natural materials. After three months of soaking these natural materials in the diesel oil solvent it was found out that the eichhornia trunk was not sunk and no sign of the apperance of biofilm or of fungi on the surface. Therefore, the eichhornia trunk has ability to absorb the diesel oil first and high potential to treat and control oil spillage in river and sea as well.