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Stirring Enhances Removal of Oil by Kapok Fiber
Abstract:
The natural hollow fiber, namely kapok, has been studied for the removal of oil, particularly in the area of oil spill clean-up. The hydrophobic nature of the natural absorbent has been demonstrated to exhibit (or show potential to exhibit) excellent oil absorption properties. Kapok fiber is inexpensive, readily available, very lightweight which makes it easy for transportation and its excellent buoyancy eases retrieval. Reusability of the material up to 15 cycles has been reported and this supports its being environmental-friendly. This paper looks into the oil absorption capacity of raw kapok fiber that can be dramatically enhanced by the simple mechanism of stirring. The oil absorption capacity is greatly increased to more than 200 times the mass of kapok used, i.e., with stirring, 1 g of the kapok fiber is able to absorb at least 200 g of the oil (200 g/g) which in this case is the refined palm oil used for cooking. The paper also discusses the reasons for the improvement due to stirring. And as a natural agricultural product which is abundant, besides being environmental-friendly, its application would be a sustainable approach to control water pollution due to oil spills and industrial organic contaminants.
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Periodical:
Pages:
69-72
Citation:
Online since:
November 2014
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