SPONGE FROM MODIFIED KAPOK FIBER FOR VEGETABLE OIL PURIFICATION

• Main Author: Kustiana, Arip
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/42001
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Kapok fiber is a natural fiber that has great potential to be used as an oil-absorbing material to overcome the oil-containing wastewater in oil processing industry. The fiber has a thin wall that is hydrophobic and oleophilic with a big lumen that can accommodate oil absorption. However, the walls are fragile, and the waxy layer on their surface causes the fibers to have low cohesion; hence, the fibers are easily disintegrated during its use in reclaiming the oil. Therefore, this study aims to determine a simple modification method that is effective in improving the structural integrity of kapok fibers as well as increasing its oil sorption capacity and reusability. Several chemical and physical modifications on the fiber walls have been conducted and analyzed. Oxidation method using NaClO2 solution is to increase the hydroxyl group on the surface of the fiber. coating with tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as a precursor and sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) as a surfactant, followed by the freeze-drying (sponge making) method have been performed to improve the structural integrity of the fiber. Silanation methods with organosilane such as dodecyltrimethoxysilane (DTMS) has also been performed to enhance the hidrofobik and oleophilic properties of the modified kapok fiber. Variations have been made to know the effect of NaClO2 concentration, the sequence of coating methods, the making sponges methods toward the performance of the modified kapok fiber. The obtained results show that the optimum concentration of NaClO2 to increase the concentration of hydroxyl groups without reducing the oil-sorption capacity is 0.5% (wt). DTMS coating via chemical vapor disposition on kapok fibers that have been reacted with TEOS precursors and freeze-dried (with a fiber concentration of 0.6%) provides the best performance of 48.56 g-oil / g-fiber oil-sorption capacity with water contact angle of 140,943o. The modified kapok fiber can maintain 54% of its oil-sorption capacity even after ten times recycled.