Development and Evaluation of Natural Sorbents of Oil out of Powdered

Orange (Citrus sinensis) Peels and Banana (Musa acuminata) Peels

CHAPTER I

Background of the Study

Oil is one of the necessities in the industrial world. It powers the machines

that makes our life convenient. Though beneficial and valuable under control, oil

can be destructive to the environment if left unmanaged, especially to the marine

ecosystem.

Urbanization and industrialization are constantly discharging waste to

bodies of water such as heavy metals, chemicals, and oil which spreads for miles.

Not only does this make the water unfit for use but it also devastates the marine

life and other creatures that depend on bodies of water. Since it is difficult to

separate oil and water, it had become a major environmental concern and various

methods for cleanup and recovery of oil spills are developed. The common

methods include biodegradation, chemical oxidation, burning, and sorption. All

these processes either take too long, is expensive, or uses chemicals. Among all

these methods, sorption is the most efficient since this technique does not use

chemicals and siphons the oil quickly. However, these sorbents are made of

plastics and rubbers which contributes to the global pollution problem.

Natural sorbents such as fruit peels are not only biodegradable, but are

also eco-friendly, cost-effective, and commonly available. The Philippines

generates about 6.53 million tons of fruit and vegetable waste every year with

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bananas and orange peels as the leading fruit peel wastes. These wastes are

dumped into landfills causing foul smell to nearby areas.

Fruit peels contains cellulose. Cellulose is a type of natural polymer as

oppose to foams and sponges that are artificial polymers. Inside the cellulose are

microporous structures that mimic how foams absorb aqueous solutions. When

dried and powdered, it collects and transforms the oil film into a semi-solid phase

which alleviates the effort of separating oil from water. These properties enable

the fruit peels as an alternative natural sorbent.

This study focuses on the use of banana peels and orange peels as natural

sorbents since they are extensively consumed fruits and abundant wastes. This

study will also consider different factors such as oil type, sorption time, and

temperature.

Statement of the Problem

Water pollutions such as oil spills is one of the most serious pollutants in

the marine ecosystem. This study aims to determine how effective is the usage of

natural sorbents, specifically fruit peels, as opposed to standard methods of oil

cleanup. The study also sought to answer the following questions:

1. How would the oil type, temperature, scale of contaminated water,

and quantity of distributed sorbents affect the sorption rate?

2. How would the powdered sorbents be distributed on a large scale?

3. What process of disposal would the peels undergo assuming they

successfully adsorb the oil?
4. Could the absorbed oil be extracted from the sorbents to be reused
again?

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Assumptions and Hypothesis

Given the properties of banana and orange peels such as they contain cellulose

and have microporous structures similar to sponges and foams, their reaction to

oil film should be similar to what artificial sorbents do. Furthermore, the

powdered banana and orange peels must collect the oil film to produce a semi-

solid material.

Null Hypothesis

 Powdered banana and orange peels as natural sorbents are ineffective

in absorbing the oil

 Powdered banana and orange peels as natural sorbents do not have

faster sorption rate than artificial sorbents such as foam

Alternate Hypothesis

 Powdered banana and orange peels as natural sorbents are effective in

absorbing the oil

 Powdered banana and orange peels as natural sorbents have faster

sorption rate than artificial sorbents such as foam

Significance of the Study

This study promotes the use of biodegradable sorbents that are of low cost,

eco-friendly, and commonly available waste material instead of using non-

biodegradable sorbents made of plastic and rubber which contributes to the

accumulation of pollution and as an alternative for using chemicals that devastates

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the marine wildlife. The study also encourages recycling and regulation of the

usage of oil.

This study will be beneficial to:

Researchers. The given data may serve as a reference for other researches who

are looking to make or innovate the existing study.

Community. This study aims to help residents near polluted waters to take action.

Industries. This research intends to raise awareness to factories to develop proper

disposals for their wastes and be responsible if incidents occur resulting in

ecological disaster.

Environment. This study attempts to aid the environment when incidents

concerning water pollution occurs. The research also attempts to minimalize the

use of chemicals and non-biodegradable sorbents as methods in cleaning up oil

spills.

Scope and Delimitation

This study exclusively emphasizes on the use of banana and orange peels as

natural sorbents and will not use any other fruit peels other than mentioned.

Comparing the natural sorbents to the standard methods of cleaning up oil will be

done by observing how the sorbents will react to different oil types, oil film

thickness, and temperature. The observation of the procedure will be conducted in

a laboratory and will proceed into a larger scale (swamps, rivers) until proven

successful.

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