Overview on the Effect of Particle Size on the Performance of Wood Based Adsorbent

Abstract

Oil spill is common to oil producing nations of the world. Various researches have been carried out. However, most of the materials used for oil spill clean-up are non-biodegradable and require expensive treatment to become an adsorbent. In this study, adsorptive capacities of cost effective raw hard and semi-hardwood particle sizes were investigated and compared. Semi-hard wood of various particle sizes was found to have better adsorptive capacities. Maximum uptake of the oil by both adsorbents occurred at 180 and 240 minutes for all the observations made. The maximum uptake also occurred in smaller particle sizes for all results. This study recommends that further research be done on the use of modified smaller particle size of semi-hardwood sawdust so as to increase its potential as a low-cost adsorbent in oil spill clean-up.