Structure–Property Relationships in Natural Cellulosic Fibres: Part III: Flax—an Oil Sorbent

Abstract

This is the third part in our current series of research papers featuring structure-property relationships in natural cellulosic fibres focussing on flax fibre. The capacity of fibres to remove different types of oil from sea water and oil baths has been related to the chemical composition and surface properties of the fibres, together with the viscosity, specific gravity and temperature of the oils. The results indicate that, with higher viscosity oils, the oil sorption capacities of flax fibres were significantly higher than those of 100% polypropylene fibres. The cyclic sorption/desorption studies indicated that a simple squeezing operation was sufficient to remove most of the oil sorbed on the fibres so that the sorbents can be recycled several times for oil spill clean-up. Individual bundles of fibres sorbed more oil than needle punched nonwoven fabrics. The results suggested that a total or partial substitution of commercial synthetic oil sorbents by natural sorbent materials could be beneficial in the oil spill clean-up operation by improving the efficiency of oil sorption and by incorporating other advantages such as biodegradability. It was concluded that flax fibre has very good potential for use in the clean-up and could compete with cotton fibre to share the market for natural fibres.