Production of sorbent from paper industry solid waste for oil spill cleanup

The aim of the study is to select a cellulosic waste material from paper industry solid wastes and process it for sorbent production. Four different solid wastes were collected from a local paper production facility and rejects were selected due to its sorption capacity and processability. Oil sorption experiments were conducted according to the ASTM F 726-12 method. Effect of sorbent dosage, contact and dripping time, recovery of the oil, reusability of the sorbent and sorption from the water surface were also determined. Maximum oil sorption capacity was determined as 9.67, 12.92 and 12.84 g/g for diesel oil, 0W30 and 10W30 motor oils respectively for the static test and 8.27, 10.45 and 11.69 g/g for the dynamic test. An efficient and low-cost sorbent was produced from paper industry rejects that can be used on land and on water.