Implementação do cabelo humano como bio-adsorvente de óleo combustível derramado nas águas do mar em Moçambique

Abstract

Mozambique, an underdeveloped coastal country, used as a corridor for transporting fuel to landlocked countries, is subject to oil spills occurrences, which reminds us of the necessity of having low-cost and environmentally friendly measures on standby that can be implemented in such disasters. This research studies the use of two types of human hair, straight and kinky, as fuel adsorbents to prove the efficienty of the material in removing oil from water in cases of its spillage. Gasoil and gasoline were used throughout the experiment together with sea water, where parameters such as contact time and adsorbent dosage were analyzed using a UV-Visible spectrophotometer. The wavelengths, at which the spectrophotometer readings should be taken, were determined along with the calibration curves, which allowed the calculus of the residual concentrations, the adsorption experiments were conducted and the isotherm and kinetic models were specified. Kinky hair was the adsorbent with better capacity for gasoline adsorption, obtaining 77% of maximum adsorption, and straight hair adsorbed gasoil better, since the maximum quantity adsorbed of 56% were obtained by it. The experimental data were described by Freundlich isotherm model, indicating a chemisorption phenomenon, with correlation coefficients of 0.9422 and 0.9536, in the adsorption of gasoline, and 0.932 and 0.9622, in the adsorption of gasoil. The kinetic model that described the oils adsorption was pseudo-second order, with correlation coefficients of 0.9936 and 0.9998, adsorbing gasoline, and 0.9949 and 0.9756, adsorbing gasoil. After concluding all the study, the experiment confirmed the applicability of human hair as a suitable fuel cleanup method.