Investigation of the effectiveness of absorbent materials in oil spills clean up

The present study examines the absorption capacity of five different types of materials for oil spills clean up. The absorbents were a commercial cell ulosic material from processed wood, a commercial synthetic organic fiber f rom polypropylene and three commercial types of local expanded perlite from the island of Milos. The absorption capacities of the above materials were evaluated in a wet as well as a dry environment with different types of pe troleum products. The results showed that commercial types of perlite, in s ome cases, have absorption capacities comparable to natural and synthetic o rganic materials used for clean-up applications. The enhancement of the hyd rophobic properties of perlite can result in better performance in a water bath. The nature of the spilled oil proved to play an important role in the selection of the proper absorbing material. Overall, the results suggested that partial substitution of commercial synthetic sorbents by mineral mate rials widely produced in Greece for oil spill clean-up operations is possib le, given their friendliness to the environment and their local abundancy.