USE OF BIRD FEATHERS AS OIL SORBENTS TO REMOVE HYDROCARBONS FROM WATER SURFACE

Vollständiger Abstract

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Hydrocarbon spills are one of the urgent environmental problems of our time. To eliminate accidental oil and petroleum product spills from water surfaces there are used various methods: mechanical, chemical, physicochemical, thermal, and biological. The most common method for hydrocarbon removing from natural water body surface is sorption, based on the use of various materials as oil sorbents. Agricultural waste of plant and animal origin has been found to be promising oil sorbents. This article summarizes literature data on the use of feathers and down of various birds, bred on a commercial scale and growing in the wild, as sorption materials for the elimination of hydrocarbon spills from water surfaces. The structure of bird feathers is briefly described. It is shown that the feather shaft consists of two parts: the rachis and the quill. The rachis is the part of the shaft to which the vanes are attached. The lower part of the shaft without vanes is called the quill, the latter is round in diameter. Barbs extend from the rachis on either side, forming the feather's vane. These barbs have hooks that interlock with other barbs that lack hooks. A literature review shows that bird feathers consist primarily of keratin – approximately 91.0 %, with the remainder consisting of water (8.0 %) and fat (1.0 %). Data on the global production of chicken feathers is also provided, amounting to approximately 5 million tons per year. Chicken feathers, one of the most common waste products of industrial poultry farming, are shown to absorb over 300 % of their weight in petroleum products. Native chicken feathers have also been shown to effectively remove oil and petroleum products from water surfaces, with hydrocarbon extraction efficiency reaching 99 %. A literature review revealed that modifying chicken feathers with various chemical reagents can increase their sorption properties for oil and petroleum products. Data on the use of native and plasma-treated domestic turkey feathers as oil sorbents is also presented. It was found that exposure to high-frequency capacitive plasma at low pressure in a hydrophobic gas atmosphere increases the oil absorption capacity of turkey feathers and reduces water absorption. Analysis of the conducted studies showed that feathers of waterfowl – ducks and geese – have significantly higher oil absorption capacity and comparatively lower water absorption. This is explained by the presence of a natural hydrophobic coating on their surface. The possibility of using poultry industry waste – feathers and down of land and waterfowl – in foam sponges, mats, and booms for hydrocarbon spill response from water surface is demonstrated.