Dispersion properties of alkali produced from empty fruit bunches of three different species of oil palm

Abstract

In this study, the crude oil in water dispersion performance of alkaline extracts from three different species of palm tree namely, Elaeis Guineesis, Elaeis Oleifera and Elaeis Odora was investigated. These extracts were used for the dispersion of crude oil at room temperature (30 0C) in the form of dry ash, and leachates from the dry ash. Results of the dispersion experiments using 14 cm3 of the leachate extracts to disperse 4 cm3 of crude oil in 10 cm3 of fresh water showed that 62.5%, 55%, and 50% dispersion was achieved with Elaeis Odora, Elaeis Guineesis,and Elaeis Oleifera extracts respectively. The same analysis in 10 cm3 of river water instead of fresh water showed that 75.0%,62.5%, and 55.0% dispersion was achieved with Elaeis Odora, Elaeis Guineesis,and Elaeis Oleifera extracts respectively. With the dry ash, optimum dispersion was obtained when 0.9 g dry ash was used to disperse 4 cm3 of crude oil in 10 cm3 of fresh water with 100%, 100% and 67.5% dispersion achieved with dry ash extracts from Elaeis Odora, Elaeis Guineesis,and Elaeis Oleifera respectively. The same level of dispersion was achieved when the experiment was repeated with river water. Spectrophotometric analysis of these alkaline extracts showed that they contain negligible amounts of poisonous substances. These extracts could therefore serve as “green” dispersants even as toxicity impacts of commercial synthetic dispersants remain a subject for debate.