Cellulose-based materials in wastewater treatment of petroleum industry

Abstract

The most abundant natural biopolymer on earth, cellulose fiber, may offer a highly efficient, low-cost, and chemical-free option for wastewater treatment. Cellulose is widely distributed in plants and several marine animals. It is a carbohydrate polymer consisting of β-1,4-linked anhydro-D-glucose units with three hydroxyl groups per anhydroglucose unit (AGU). Cellulose-based materials have been used in food, industrial, pharmaceutical, paper, textile production, and in wastewater treatment applications due to their low cost, renewability, biodegradability, and non-toxicity. For water treatment in the oil and gas industry, cellulose-based materials can be used as adsorbents, flocculants, and oil/water separation membranes. In this review, the uses of cellulose-based materials for wastewater treatment in the oil & gas industry are summarized, and recent research progress in the following aspects are highlighted: crude oil spill cleaning, flocculation of solid suspended matter in drilling or oil recovery in the upstream oil industry, adsorption of heavy metal or chemicals, and separation of oil/water by cellulosic membrane in the downstream water treatment. Keywords: Cellulose, Wastewater treatment, Petroleum industry