A facile scalable hydrophobic biocomposite for oil spill cleanup

Abstract

In this work, we attempt to address the oil spill problem by synthesizing a novel hydrophobic biocomposite material from the readily available lignocellulosic biomass. In this work, saw dust was functionalized using a long alkyl silylating agent post-pretreatment method. The functionalization imparted substantial hydrophobicity and oleophilicity, resulting in the selective absorption of oil from the oil/water mixture. The synthesized biocomposite was characterized by various analytical techniques to confirm functionalization. Furthermore, the biocomposite was utilized to selectively absorb spilled crude oil from oil/water biphasic mixtures. The ease of coagulated mass separation, biocomposite regeneration and recyclability is demonstrated.