Oily Wastewater Treatment Using Adsorption

Oil spills have become a major environmental pollution problem since the 1960s with the ever-increasing petroleum exploitation, transportation, storage, and accidental leakage of oil. Due to the influence of wind, water currents, waves, and temperature, the oil spilled goes through several chemical and physical changes. Oil spills kill aquatic organisms such as fish, shellfish, dolphins, whales, seals, and sea otters in addition to making seafood unsafe. Additionally, oil-covered birds pose a global environmental problem. Currently, efforts are geared towards recovering oil from oil spills and ensuring effective oil/water separation from the collected oil/water emulsion. The primary method for collecting spilled oil from aquatic environments is mechanical containment and recovery methods such as booms and skimmers. After oil recovery, adsorption is proposed to treat the residual oil in the oil/water emulsion to allow for safe disposal into the aquatic environment. Adsorption is an appealing treatment technology due to its simplicity and affordability. When the adsorbent is environmentally friendly and cost-effective, it makes it more appealing. Current research focuses on the optimization of adsorbent dose, adsorbent type, and contact time for enhanced treatment of oily wastewater in adsorption columns.