Oil sorption behavior of various sorbents studied by sorption capacity measurement and environmental scanning electron microscopy.

Oil sorption capacities of various natural and man-made fibrous sorbents were compared in a simulated seawater bath containing oil. Natural sorbents such as milkweed, kapok, cotton, and wool showed higher sorption capacities than man-made sorbents such as polyester, polypropylene, viscose rayon, nylon 6, nylon 66, and acetate. Sorption capacities of the natural sorbents were over 30 g oil/g fiber. No definite advantages were observed using man-made bicomponent and biconstituent fibers over regular man-made fibers with respect to their sorption capacity. Analyses of sorption mechanisms using an environmental scanning electron microscope revealed that an oil deposit disappeared from the fiber surface after a certain time interval in milkweed, kapok, and cotton. This suggested that the sorption of oil in these fibers occurred through capillary action, probably due to their hollow lumens. Contrarily, adsorption, a surface phenomenon, would be the most prominent mechanism for oil sorption of wool fibers due to large amounts of surface wax, irregular scaly surfaces, and crimp. Effects of both adsorption and absorption were shown in the oil sorption of man-made fibers, depending upon the type and shape of the sorbent. Dumbbell-like oil deposits were seen on the fiber surface in certain oleophilic man-made fibers, because of a partial wetting of oil on the fiber surface. For some hydrophilic man-made fibers such as polyvinylalcohol and copolymer of isobutylene-maleic anhydride, the physical configuration of the fiber was a decisive factor in determining oil sorpton capacity of the sorbents.