Oil removal from water by selective sorption on hydrophobic cotton fibers. 1. Study of sorption properties and comparison with other cotton fiber-based sorbents.

Hydrophobic cotton fibers, obtained by acylation of cellulose with fatty acid using microwaves radiations, have a high selective affinity for vegetable or mineral oil, fuel, and petroleum, in aqueous medium. Their sorption capacity (SC) (weight of liquid picked up by a given weight of sorbent) is about 20 g/g, after draining. They are reusable after simple squeezing, and their SC reaches a constant value, ca. 12 g/g. Moreover, this product is stable in water, whereas raw cotton can develop molds, after oil sorption. Besides, it is also biodegradable.