Novel Coconut Oil Based Magnetite Nanofluid as an Ecofriendly Oil Spill Remover

The removal of oil spills from a water surface has huge industrial importance, in view of ecological safety. A novel, ecofriendly coconut oil based magnetite nanofluid is prepared by the coprecipitation method, for removing oil contaminants from water. Magnetic particles with face centered cubic crystal structure and superparamagnetic behavior are prepared and used to get a stable suspension in coconut oil. The superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity of the nanofluid are examined through contact angle measurements. The fluid offers a contact angle of 166° which is greater than the critical angle of 150°, indicating its superhydrophobic nature. This paper demonstrates the usage of the magnetite–coconut oil nanofluid in the removal of an oil spill from water with 91% efficiency. The mechanism is based on the selective absorbance property of superhydrophobic and superoleophilic nanofluids, which can collect contaminant oil while completely repelling the water molecules. When magnetic nanofluid is added to oil contaminated water, the nonpolar hydrophobic part of the contaminant oil gets attached to the carrier fluid (coconut oil) through London dispersive forces; this is then collected along with the magnetic nanofluid, by applying a magnetic field. The proposed method is an efficient biocompatible one that can be used on a large scale, for the cleanup of oil spills on water surfaces.