Abstract
Produced water has a considerable amount of oil that can harm the environment if dumped prior to treatment. Iron oxide (maghemite) nanoparticles have attracted much attention as potential adsorbents due to their unique properties, high adsorption capacity, super magnetization, and high surface area. In this study, maghemite 3 nm and 15–20 nm have been used as adsorbents. Oil has been successfully removed from oil-water emulsion using maghemite with the application of a magnetic field. The effects of the varying process parameters, including adsorbent dose, particle size, mixing time, API, pH, temperature, and oil concentration, on the percentage of oil removal (OR%) were studied. The highest OR% was achieved at 20 min, 100 mg/L oil concentration, 80 mg adsorbent dose, room temperature, 30 API, and pH 6; these data were taken as a reference to evaluate the other parameters. The highest ORs% were 94% and 83% for MNPs of 3 nm and 15–20 nm, respectively. Stability and reusability tests of the maghemite exhibited an effective oil recovery of up to 77% and 64% after 9 cycles. They displayed a maximum adsorption capacity of 3280 mg/g and 3235 mg/g for the 3 nm and 15–20 nm nanoparticles, respectively. The Langmuir isotherm model showed a better fit with experimental data compared to the Freundlich-isotherm model. Kinetic adsorption models fit effectively with the pseudo-second-order model. Thus, the results demonstrate maghemite nanoparticles’ efficiency in removing oil from oil-water emulsions. This innovative technique will reduce time and optimize the conventional treatment process.
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Conceptualization, writing original draft, review and editing: R. Malhas. Writing, review and editing: J. El Achkar. Methodology validation: B. Misbah. Final review: S. Al Radhwan. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Malhas, R., El Achkar, J.H., Misbah, B. et al. Optimizing Oil Removal from Oil-Water Emulsions Using Novel Iron Oxide Magnetic Nanoparticles. Water Air Soil Pollut 234, 564 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-023-06590-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-023-06590-4