Use of bamboo fiber in oil water separation

One of the environmental issues facing the society is the separation of oil from water in emulsions. Oily wastewater enters into the environment through many ways such as oil spill as well as from the industry. Natural fibers are a viable alternative to synthetic fibers in separating oil from the water. The oil physical characteristics and sorbents made from the fiber influences the sorption of oil onto the fiber. This work uses the naturally available bamboo fibers for separation of oil from water. Very high adsorption capacities were obtained for vegetable oil. Furthermore, recovery of oil was also tested and 90% recovery was obtained. Bamboo fiber has thus great advantage in treating oil-water mixture.