Crude Oil Sorption by Raw Cotton

Since
the recent Deepwater Horizon Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the
need for environmentally friendly oil sorbents has intensified. This
study deals with the sorption of crude oil by raw cotton, a biodegradable
sorbent. To our best knowledge, the data related to crude oil sorption
by unprocessed raw cotton and correlation with cotton characteristics
such as micronaire, fineness, and maturity are unavailable. More importantly,
our work quantifies the oil sorption (g/g) of low micronaire (immature)
cotton. Results showed at the minimum level, low micronaire raw cotton
has 30.5 g/g crude oil sorption capacity. Furthermore, the crude oil
sorption capacity of low micronaire cotton was significantly higher
than the sorption capacity of high micronaire cotton. Brunauer–Emmett–Teller
(BET) surface area and environmental scanning electron microscopy
analyses support the correlation between the quality characteristics
of raw cotton and its oil sorption capacity. In contrast to synthetic
sorbents, raw cotton with its high crude oil sorption capacity and
positive environmental footprint make it an ecologically friendly
sorbent for oil spill cleanups.