Approach of Cost-Effective Adsorbents for Oil Removal from Oily Water

Abstract

The hazard of oil pollution has increased with the growth of industrial development and exploration, production, and refining of oil. Due to the recent increase in the volume of oily wastewater worldwide, the outcome and effect of discharging contaminated water into the environment have become significant issues of environmental concern. Thus, the treatment of oily water is critical for environmental protection. Oily water is conventionally treated through different physical, chemical, and biological methods. However, most of the conventional treatment technologies fail to remove small suspended oil content and dissolved elements; moreover, many chemical treatments involve high initial and/or running costs and lead to the production of hazardous sludge, which is released into offshore platforms because of space constraints. This highlights the need for compact physical and chemical systems. Among the various methods proposed for the treatment of oily water, adsorption is an attractive option because of its excellent oil-removing ability, eco-friendliness, cost-effectiveness, easy availability, feasibility, universal applicability, and relieves operation. The present article describes the effectiveness of hydrophobic adsorbents, their application to oil-spill cleanup, and the toxic effects of oily water on human health and the environment. In addition, we have also attempted to elucidate the available cost-effective adsorbent techniques and future perspectives of economical adsorbents for oily water treatment.

KEY WORDS:

• adsorbents
• oil-spill cleanup
• reusability
• sorption
• toxicity