COMAPARISM OF THE EFFICIENCY OF SAWDUST, COCONUT FIBRE, WOOD CHIPS IN PURIFICATION CRUDE OIL POLLUTED WATER

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ABSTRACT

    A comparative study was conducted among organic waste materials namely coconut fiber, hair, sawdust and woodchips as crude oil absorbents. Twenty grams of each of these materials were wrapped in a pouch and submerged into two set-ups, Set-up A: Pure Crude Oil and Set-up B: Crude Oil with seawater, for an hour. Amount of oil absorbed was gathered and recorded. ANOVA was conducted to verify if the results significantly differed.

The results show that hair had the highest amount of absorbed crude oil in one of the two set-ups which was pure crude oil only. In the other set-up with contained half-crude oil and half-seawater, coconut fiber had the highest amount of absorbed crude oil. It was found that there was a significant difference between the amounts of absorbed crude oil of the materials in the two-set-ups after using t-test on the results gathered in both set-ups.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the Study

  Oil as a natural resource is very abundant here on earth. Many oil deposits are scattered around the globe. Export of oil is done largely through oil tankers from continent to continent. An unfortunate accident of one of these tankers may cause oil spill which can create serious environmental problems. A large oil spill can cause heavy damage and is toxic to marine life, resources which man use as food, thus having also an effect on human life. Because of the damage and the resulting toxicity of these oil spills, there is a need to clean the spills. Various ways are used to clean spills like using dispersants, vacuums and skimmers. In this research, the researchers want to find an alternative solution to remove these spills by using organic materials with oil-absorbing properties.

                Cleaning and absorption of commercial oil spills costs a lot of money. Sometimes, unpredictable weather hampers the cleaning of oil spills. If there is a heavy storm, it would be impossible to clean up the oil spill in that particular period of time.  This study would test the absorption potential of various organic waste materials like sawdust, wood chips, hair, and coconut fiber. These organic materials are inexpensive and readily available in our country thus, if proven to absorb oil, will help reduce the cost of cleaning oil spills. The researchers want to investigate the materials mentioned absorbs oil effectively. If proven, the government would not spend too much on commercial absorbents and heavy equipment. Instead, they would use these materials to stop the spill in causing more damage by absorbing the oil. Furthermore, the researchers want to prove if these waste materials can also be good oil absorbers.  If the mentioned materials that can effectively absorb oil, the researchers would compare which one is better than the other.