Acetylation of Kapok Fibres as an Oil Absorbent for Oil Spill Mitigation 


Vol. 25,  No. 4, pp. 1265-1277, Apr.  2024
10.1007/s12221-024-00484-w


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  Abstract

Oil spills are significant environmental events that can harm marine life and human health globally. Booms, skimmers, dispersants and burning have drawbacks such as instability in strong currents and high costs, and can themselves cause environmental damage. Bioremediation using oil-degrading bacteria has been widely used but faces the risk of the bacteria being washed away under strong winds and currents, thus lowering their effectiveness. To enhance oil degradation effectiveness, immobilisation is commonly used to attach bacteria onto carriers which thereby act as a shield for the bacteria under harsh conditions. In this study, kapok fibre was used as an oil sorbent and carrier for bacterial immobilisation of Acinetobacter venetianus RAG-1. Kapok fibres were chosen due to their hollow lumen and waxy layer, which can be altered through acetylation to increase their hydrophobicity for potentially improved oil absorption and bacterial immobilisation. The highest degree of substitution achieved was 2.06 ± 0.05 using acetic anhydride with 0.2% sulphuric acid at 90 °C for an hour. The results showed that acetylated kapok fibres had a lower oil absorption capacity but higher reabsorption ratio than raw kapok fibres, which leads to better reusability. Scanning electron microscopy and viable cell counts showed that the bacteria were successfully immobilised onto kapok fibres. The number of bacteria immobilised showed no significant difference between acetylated and raw kapok fibres despite acetylated fibres having a rougher surface. Bacteria-immobilised acetylated fibres are effective as a reusable oil sorbent for their greater reabsorption ratio and likely to degrade oil simultaneously.

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  Cite this article

[IEEE Style]

K. W. Law, Y. H. Tan, J. Beardall, M. O. Y. Soo, "Acetylation of Kapok Fibres as an Oil Absorbent for Oil Spill Mitigation," Fibers and Polymers, vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 1265-1277, 2024. DOI: 10.1007/s12221-024-00484-w.

[ACM Style]

Ke Wei Law, Yong Hui Tan, John Beardall, and Michelle Oi Yoon Soo. 2024. Acetylation of Kapok Fibres as an Oil Absorbent for Oil Spill Mitigation. Fibers and Polymers, 25, 4, (2024), 1265-1277. DOI: 10.1007/s12221-024-00484-w.

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