ECO-FRIENDLY CHICKEN FEATHERS AS A SORBENT MATERIAL FOR OIL SPILLS POLLUTING SEAWATER

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Mining and Petroleum Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Al-Azhar University, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt.

2 Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute (EPRI)

10.21608/auej.2024.254250.1523

Abstract

This research aims to explore the potential of chicken feathers as a sustainable and eco-friendly solution for the pollution cleanup of oil spills in seawater. Baladi chicken feather was used as a biosorbent material and motor oil as a sorbate and the feathers characterization was applied. The oil sorption efficiency of 98% at 20 ml oil and 85.3% at 80 ml oil per 1 g feather. 5-6 g feather powder was needed per 20 ml of oil and this quantity was six times the unpowdered feather. The body and down feathers were the optimum for the oil sorption efficiency at 98% instantaneously. Chemically modified feathers showed higher effective sorption activity than unchemically treated feathers due to lipid coating on the surface, with a maximum efficiency of 99% and a minimum efficiency of 95.5% at 20 and 80 ml of oil per 1 g of feather, respectively. The oil sorption efficiency decreases as the initial oil volume increases, with a maximum sorption capacity not exceeds 120 ml (105 g) oil per 1 g feather. Finally, Baladi feathers are a promising biosorbent material for environmental pollution remediation due to their ability to effectively sorb a large amount of oil per unit weight, making them a promising alternative to synthetic sorbents.
 
Special Issue of AEIC 2024 (Mechanical & Chemical and Material Engineering  Session)

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