Naturally pre-designed biomaterials: Spider molting cuticle as a functional crude oil sorbent.
J Environ Manage
; 261: 110218, 2020 May 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32148288
Diverse fields of modern environmental technology are nowadays focused on the discovery and development of new sources for oil spill removal. An especially interesting type of sorbents is those of natural origin-biosorbents-as ready-to-use constructs with biodegradable, nontoxic, renewable and cost-efficient properties. Moreover, the growing problem of microplastic-related contamination in the oceans further encourages the use of biosorbents. Here, for the first time, naturally pre-designed molting cuticles of the Theraphosidae spider Avicularia sp. "Peru purple", as part of constituting a large-scale spider origin waste material, were used for efficient sorption of crude oil. Compared with currently used materials, the proposed biosorbent of spider cuticular origin demonstrates excellent ability to remain on the water surface for a long time. In this study the morphology and hydrophobic features of Theraphosidae cuticle are investigated for the first time. The unique surface morphology and very low surface free energy (4.47 ± 0.08 mN/m) give the cuticle-based, tube-like, porous biosorbent excellent oleophilic-hydrophobic properties. The crude oil sorption capacities of A. sp. "Peru purple" molt structures in sea water, distilled water and fresh water were measured at 12.6 g/g, 15.8 g/g and 16.6 g/g respectively. These results indicate that this biomaterial is more efficient than such currently used fibrous sorbents as human hairs or chicken feathers. Four cycles of desorption were performed and confirmed the reusability of the proposed biosorbent. We suggest that the oil adsorption mechanism is related to the brush-like and microporous structure of the tubular spider molting cuticles and may also involve interaction between the cuticular wax layers and crude oil.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Aranhas
/
Poluentes Químicos da Água
/
Petróleo
/
Poluição por Petróleo
Limite:
Animals
País/Região como assunto:
America do sul
/
Peru
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Environ Manage
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Alemanha
País de publicação:
Reino Unido