Cleanup of oiled shorelines using a dual responsive nanoclay/sodium alginate surface washing agent

Rengyu Yue; Chunjiang An; Zhibin Ye; Huifang Bi; Zhikun Chen; Xudong Liu; Ximeng Zhang; Kenneth Lee

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2021.112531

Cleanup of oiled shorelines using a dual responsive nanoclay/sodium alginate surface washing agent

Environ Res. 2022 Apr 1:205:112531. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112531. Epub 2021 Dec 11.

Authors

Rengyu Yue¹, Chunjiang An², Zhibin Ye³, Huifang Bi¹, Zhikun Chen¹, Xudong Liu³, Ximeng Zhang³, Kenneth Lee⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, H3G 1M8, Canada.
² Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, H3G 1M8, Canada. Electronic address: chunjiang.an@concordia.ca.
³ Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, H3G 1M8, Canada.
⁴ Ecosystem Science, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 200 Kent Street, Ottawa, Ontario, K1C 0E6, Canada.

PMID: 34906587
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112531

Abstract

Oil spills may affect ecosystems and endanger public health. In this study, we developed a novel and dual responsive nanoclay/sodium alginate (NS) washing fluid, and systematically evaluated its application potential in oiled shoreline cleanup. The characterization results demonstrated that sodium alginate combined with nanoclay via hydrogen bonds, and was inserted into the interlayer spacing of nanoclay. Adding sodium alginate reduced surface and interfacial tensions, while increasing the viscoelasticity of the washing fluid. Batch experiments were conducted to investigate oil removal performance under various conditions. Additionally, the factorial design analysis showed that three single factors (temperature, oil concentration, and salinity), and two interactive effects (temperature/salinity; and oil concentration/HA) displayed significant effects on the oil removal efficiency of the NS washing fluid. Compared to the commercial surfactants, the NS composite exhibited satisfactory removal efficiencies for treating oily sand. Green materials-stabilized Pickering emulsion can potentially be used for oil/water separation. The NS washing agent displayed excellent pH- and Ca²⁺- responsiveness, generating transparent supernatants with low oil concentration and turbidity. Our work opens an interesting avenue for designing economical, high performance, and green washing agents.

Keywords: Dual responsive separation; Nanoclay/sodium alginate; Oil spill; Shoreline; Surface washing agent.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Alginates*
Ecosystem
Petroleum Pollution* / analysis
Salinity
Sand

Substances

Alginates
Sand