Spilled Oil Sorption from Caspian Sea Water by Exfoliated Graphite

In recent years, oil production in Caspian Sea has become a serious environmental impact. In this study, Oil sample sorption, which was explored from Sardar-e-Jangal oilfield in Caspian Sea, by exfoliated graphite, was investigated. A synthetized absorbent was investigated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Brunauer– Emmett–Teller analysis (BET), Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Absorbance efficiency was investigated by gravimetric and response surface methodology using design expert data analysis. Exfoliated graphite absorbed oil sample from aqueous solution to a great extent due to increasing total pore volume in its structure in comparison with simple graphite. Identified parameters (weight of absorbent and oil) were investigated by response surface methodology and the maximum absorption ratio was 27.6 (gr oil/gr absorbent). Exfoliated graphite, due to being easier to prepare, low cost and high performance in absorption instead of simple graphite and other carbon-based absorbents, could be an appropriate absorbent to remove the oil from the water.