Recycled Wool-Based Nonwoven Material as an Oil Sorbent
- 31 January 2003
- journal article
- Published by American Chemical Society (ACS) in Environmental Science & Technology
- Vol. 37 (5), 1008-1012
- https://doi.org/10.1021/es0201303
Abstract
The aim of this study was to highlight the possibility of using recycled wool-based nonwoven material as a sorbent in an oil spill cleanup. This material sorbed higher amounts of base oil SN 150 than diesel or crude oil from the surface of a demineralized or artificial seawater bath. Superficial modification of material with the biopolymer chitosan and low-temperature air plasma led to a slight decrease of sorption capacity. Loose fibers of the same origin as nonwoven material have significantly higher sorption capacities than investigated nonwoven material. White light scanning interferometry analysis of the fibers suggested that roughness of the wool fiber surface has an important role in oil sorption. The laboratory experiments demonstrated that this material is reusable. Recycled wool-based nonwoven material showed good sorption properties and adequate reusability, indicating that a material based on natural fibers could be a viable alternative to commercially available synthetic materials that have poor biodegradability.This publication has 7 references indexed in Scilit:
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