Novel magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles coated with sulfonated asphaltene as crude oil spill collectors

This work aims to apply modified asphaltene for capping of magnetite to form dispersed hydrophobic magnetic nanomaterials for environmental applications. In this respect, asphaltene was separated from heavy crude oil and functionalized by sulfonation in order to apply as a capping agent for magnetic materials to collect the heavy crude oil that was not easily collected or dispersed by using different oil spill control techniques. The coprecipitation method was used to prepare magnetite in the presence of sulfonated asphaltene as a capping agent. The magnetite nanomaterials were confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray powder diffraction, transmittance electron microscopy and a vibrating sample magnetometer. Finally, sulfonated asphaltene magnetite nanomaterials were applied at different concentrations to collect a heavy crude oil spill after application of an external magnetic field as novel magnetic materials. They achieved remarkable oil spill collection efficiency with a reduction in the overall cost of the materials when compared with available techniques.