An Experimental Study on Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) Bagasse and Corn (Zea mays L.) cob as a Potential Bio-adsorbent for Used Engine Oil

• Main Authors: Hugo, Alyssa Marygrace M., Librando, Julius Alvin A., Muñoz, Yuji C.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2021
• Subjects: Saccharum officinarum; oil sorption capacity; bio-adsorbents
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/conf_shsrescon/2021/paper_see/21; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/conf_shsrescon/article/1667/viewcontent/SEE__An_Experimental_Study_on_Sugarcane.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

Oil pollution is one of the leading causes of detriment to water ecosystems. Bioadsorbents have been studied for oil cleanup potential, but mixed bio-adsorbents have not been thoroughly studied yet. Thus, this study investigated Sugarcane ( ) bagasse and Corn ( ) cobs, two of the most underutilized agricultural wastes, as bioadsorbents in their natural form. Five formulations were used, and used motor oil was utilized as the adsorbate. One gram of bio-adsorbent was used in a mixture of 3 grams of oil and 200 milliliters of water per trial. The oil sorption capacity (OSC) and water sorption amounts were collected to determine the efficiency in selectively adsorbing motor oil. Results showed that all formulations had similar oil sorption capacities, ranging from 288% to 298%, with pure bagasse (F1) having the highest and the formulation with a bagasse-cob mass ratio of 3:1 (F2) having the lowest. Statistical analysis posited that all group means for OSC are equal. Additionally, findings suggested that water sorption amount increases as the percentage by mass of bagasse in the formulation increases. F1 sorbed the most water with 5.80 grams, whereas the formulation with pure cobs (F5) sorbed the lowest with 2.09 grams, followed by the formulation with a bagasse-cob mass ratio of 1:3 (F4) with 3.22 grams. These results signified that not all mean water sorption amounts measured were equal, suggesting that formulations F4 and F5 are the most efficient in selectively absorbing oil.