Application of Rice Straw Cellulose for Oil-Water Separation

Abstract

Due to the high annual production of rice, rice straw has become a numerous agricultural waste product. We propose in this paper to produce oil sorbent for oil-water separation from waste rice straw fibers. Rice straw cellulose were extracted using 5 wt.% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) at 90 °C for 2 hours. After washing with water, rice straw fibers were tested with litmus paper until pH was neutral. A 20-minute boil was applied to sticky rice flour and water. A strainer was placed on the boiling sticky rice flour. Rice straw fibers were delicately spun, placed in the sieve, and dried at 60 °C for 24 hours. The identification of rice straw cellulose was accomplished through the utilization of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In order to evaluate the oil absorption capacity, it is necessary to introduce rice straw into a designated container. Adsorption was measured at time intervals of 10, 20, and 30 minutes. Cease the act of quantifying temporal intervals beyond the predetermined duration. Extract the specimen from its receptacle and proceed to measure its weight. To maximize the %adsorption, the oil sorbent weight, adsorption time, and contact area were considered. The maximum adsorption capacity of 175.67% was obtained by optimizing the following parameters: oil sorbent weight of 30.10 g, adsorption time of 30 min, and contact area of 6.25 cm2. The oil sorbent, which uses waste rice straw fibers as raw materials, may have a good application possibility in the remediation of oil spills, industrial waste water, and waste water from households.