Effects of modified sugar cane and plantain pseudo-stem fibers for oil spill remediation

Abstract

This article presents the experimental results on the effects of surface functionalization of plantain pseudo-stem fiber (PF) and sugar cane fiber (SF) sorbents on the absorption of crude oil and the separation oil/water mixture. The modification involved coating the SF and PF with TiO₂, graphene oxide (GO), and stearic acid (SA). The fibers were cut and sonicated in hexane and ethanol in succession for ∼45 min and dried at 60 °C for 24 h. 0.5 g of PF and SF were bagged into 2 g empty tea bags. The GO and ethanol solutions of ∼3–5 mg/mL were coated onto the SF and PF and dried for 12 h and subsequently contacted with instant ocean salt and crude oil fractions. The results show that the SA, TiO₂ nanoparticles, and GO sheets contribute a large surface area and high surface roughness which provide excellent hydrophobicity. The modified SF and PF recorded ∼144° and ∼126° from ∼63° and ∼46° contact angles as well as ∼10.29 g/g and ∼5.77 g/g absorption respectively. The sorbent materials demonstrate crude oil and oil/water separation indicating a promising technique for oil spill remediation.

Keywords:

• Sorbent material
• plantain pseudo-stem fiber
• sugar cane fiber
• oil spill remediation
• hydrophobicity
• oleophilicity

REVIEWING EDITOR:

• Ian Phillip Jones, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

SUBJECTS:

• Marine & Aquatic Science
• Environmental Management
• Environmental Studies
• Conservation – Environment Studies
• Material Science
• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Civil, Environmental and Geotechnical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Mining, Mineral & Petroleum Engineering

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Author contributions

All authors contributed to the study. The research conception and design were developed by EN, BAT, and SG. Materials preparation, experimental procedures, and data collection were performed by SG, DN, and YKA. The data analyses were carried out by SG, DN, YKA, BM, BAT, and EN. The first draft of the manuscript was written by SG and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. A final review of the manuscript was performed by BAT and EN. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Consent to participate

All authors have been personally and actively involved in substantial work leading to the paper and will take public responsibility for its content.

Consent to publish

The paper is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere.

Data availability statement

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

The authors declare that this project was funded by the University of Ghana’s BANGA-Africa program with funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Notes on contributors

Selassie Gbogbo

Selassie Gbogbo and Yaw Kwakye Adofo are PhD students in the Department Materials Science and Engineering, University of Ghana researching into photocatalysts, nanofibers and dispersants for contaminated water and oil spill remediations.

Daniel Narh

Daniel Narh is a Research Assistant in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He completed his Bachelor’s degree from the same department in the area photocatalyses.

Yaw Kwakye Adofo

Selassie Gbogbo and Yaw Kwakye Adofo are PhD students in the Department Materials Science and Engineering, University of Ghana researching into photocatalysts, nanofibers and dispersants for contaminated water and oil spill remediations.

Bismark Mensah

Prof. Benjamin Agyei-Tuffour, Prof. Emmanuel Nyankson and Dr. Bismark Mensah are researchers in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The research interests are in composites materials for energy and environmental remediation, photocatalyses and dispersants, and mechanical behaviour of materials.

Benjamin Agyei-Tuffour

Prof. Benjamin Agyei-Tuffour, Prof. Emmanuel Nyankson and Dr. Bismark Mensah are researchers in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The research interests are in composites materials for energy and environmental remediation, photocatalyses and dispersants, and mechanical behaviour of materials.

Emmanuel Nyankson

Prof. Benjamin Agyei-Tuffour, Prof. Emmanuel Nyankson and Dr. Bismark Mensah are researchers in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The research interests are in composites materials for energy and environmental remediation, photocatalyses and dispersants, and mechanical behaviour of materials.