Oil spill cleanup by structured fibre assembly

Oil is one of the important sources of energy in the modern industrial world. It has to be transported from the source of production to many places across the globe through oceans and inland transport. During transportation the chance of oil spillage over the water body occurs due to accidents or by deliberate action during war time and this causes environmental pollution. Sorbents made from structured fibre assembly are found to be the best material to clean up oil spill. The oil sorption and retention behavior of sorbents are influenced by the material and structure of the sorbents and oil physical characteristics. For sustainable environment, disposal of used sorbents is a major issue. In this context, the naturally available biodegradable materials have great potential than the synthetic ones. This paper reviews about oil spill cleanup with special emphasis on the phenomenon of oil sorption, methods of oil spill cleanup, characteristics of oil sorbent materials, fluid flow through fibrous materials, types of fibre materials envisaged for making sorbents and test methods for oil sorbents.