Removal of emulsified oil in wastewater by Corn Cob Carbon

Nowadays, the oil pollution is one of the serious environmental concerns which caused by oil exploration and production activities due to the industrial growth around the world. ln this studies, the com cob which was value added agriculture waste was chosen as natural adsorbent for the emulsified oil wastewater remediation. The potential used of com cob carbon for removal of emulsified oil from wastewater was evaluated. The controlling factors that affected com cob carbon adsorption were identified. The physical and chemical structures of raw com cob and corn cob carbon were characterized. The corn cob was carbonized using furnace (450°C) and prepared for the emulsified oil adsorption. The ability of corn cob carbon in emulsified oil removal was investigated through batch adsorption process. The parameters effects were studied on its contact time, dosage of com cob carbon and concentration of emulsified oil wastewater. The gravimetric method was used to determine the concentration of oil. The corn cob carbon shown good efficiency in emulsified oil removal with percentage 96% at 2 hours contact time, 1 g of com cob carbon and 5% of emulsified oil wastewater concentration. The apparent porosity of corn cob carbon was the reason for the sinking of emulsified oil particles absorbed on the surface of com cob carbon. TGA showed 3.60% and 58.17% of mass loss within the first and second thennal decomposition respectively. The functional groups of corn cob samples were C-H, -CEC-, C=C, -C-l-l and C-O. SEM analysis shown some pores were found in the corn cob carbon and presented a layer of oil on its surface after the adsorption process. Therefore, corn cob carbon could be considered a useful alternative to clean up the emulsified oil in wastewater due to good emulsified oil adsorption capacity and low secondary pollution.