Oil spill cleanup by raw flax fiber: Modification effect, sorption isotherm, kinetics and thermodynamics

Modification of raw flax fiber by acetylating process and microwave energy was useful in the application of oil spill cleanup. The change in fibers was characterized by scientific analysis (FTIR, SEM, XRD and contact angle). The results indicate that the modified fibers by the acetylating process have extra hydrophobic properties than both microwave radiation and raw fibers. Oil/Artificial seawater(3.5% salinity by NaCl) system (O/W-S) was used as a liquid phase operation system. Fast oil sorption was reached at 6 min and attained(equilibrium) at 10 min. Acetylated fiber (ACF)has higher oil sorption capacity(24.54 g/g) than both raw(13.75 g/g) and microwave fiber (17.42 g/g) with exothermic effect. The sorption kinetics and isotherms indicate that the oil sorption onto ACF agreement with pseudo second-order kinetic model and Freundlich isotherm model. Also, the economic reusing of fiber was evaluated. The process of acetylation demonstrated the ability to improve the absorptive properties of the fibers, which makes them able to compete with synthetic fibers in the oil spill cleanup and industrial applications, as well as cheap and eco-friendly due to their biodegradation. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.