Potential for using Cattle Hair from Hair-Saving Tanneries as Adsorbent for Crude Oil

Abstract

The oil cleanup potential of discarded cattle hair from tannery operations was investigated by batch adsorption experiments using two crude oils with different viscosities. The results illustrate that cattle hair exhibits higher adsorption capacity for crude oil with higher viscosity. The sorbent can adsorb 5 to 6 times its weight in the two crude oils. Maximum adsorption capacity of 8.72 g/g at 18°C is achieved with pulverized hair powder, and it is comparable to human hair. The sorption can fit better to Freundlich adsorption isotherm and shows the adsorption occurred on heterogeneous sites with a non-uniform distribution of energy. Desorption and  reusability experiments confirmed reusability without significant  reduction in sorption capacity. This investigation indicates that  discarded cattle hair has potential as a low-cost and effective biosorbent for scavenging crude oil spillage.