Experimental Investigation of Coir Fibre on Its Potential for the Sorption of Hydrocarbons

Abstract

Groundwater contamination due to petroleum hydrocarbons is a common problem worldwide. It occurs due to surface oil spills or leaking from underground storages. Nowadays, it becomes a threat to the quality of drinking water wells also. The field remediation methods usually practised involve treating the water by pumping out of the well and recharging it. In this study, an environmentally friendly sustainable solution using coir geotextile is proposed to suggest a remedial measure against hydrocarbon contamination. Hence, it should possess the capability to sorb the contaminants so that its migration towards the groundwater is controlled/arrested. This study aims to analyse the adsorption behaviour, degradation effect, surface morphology and the variation in the lignin-cellulose content of coir geotextile under the action of hydrocarbons. The experimental results exhibit better sorption capacity of oil by coir fibres. Moreover, it is observed that the degradation behaviour is not much influenced by the action of hydrocarbons.