Removal of Petroleum Spill in Water by Chitin and Chitosan

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the capacity of adsorption of crude oil spilled in seawater by chitin flakes, chitin powder, chitosan flakes, chitosan powder, and chitosan solution. The results showed that, although chitosan flakes had a better adsorption capacity by oil (0.379 ± 0.030 grams oil per gram of adsorbent), the biopolymer was sinking after adsorbing oil. Chitosan solution did not present such inconvenience, despite its lower adsorption capacity (0.013 ± 0.001 grams oil per gram of adsorbent). It was able to form a polymeric film on the oil slick, which allowed to restrain and to remove the oil from the samples of sea water. The study also suggests that chitosan solution 0.5% has greater efficiency against oil spills in alkaline medium than acidic medium.

Keywords

• crude oil spill
• biopolymers
• chitosan
• adsorption