Oil sorbents from plastic wastes and polymers: A review

A large volume of the waste produced across the world is composed of polymers from plastic wastes such as polyethylene (HDPE or LDPE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) amongst others. For years, environmentalists have been looking for various ways to overcome the problems of such large quantities of plastic wastes being disposed of into landfill sites. On the other hand, the usage of synthetic polymers as oil sorbents in particular, polyolefins, including polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) have been reported. In recent years, the idea of using plastic wastes as the feed for the production of oil sorbents has gained momentum. However, the studies undertaking such feasibility are rather scattered. This review paper is the first of its kind reporting, compiling and reviewing these various processes. The production of an oil sorbent from plastic wastes is being seen to be satisfactorily achievable through a variety of methods Nevertheless, much work needs to be done regarding further investigation of the numerous parameters influencing production yields and sorbent qualities. For example, differences in results are seen due to varying operating conditions, experimental setups, and virgin or waste plastics being used as feeds. The field of producing oil sorbents from plastic wastes is still very open for further research, and seems to be a promising route for both waste reduction, and the synthesis of value-added products such as oil sorbents. In this review, the research related to the production of various oil sorbents based on plastics (plastic waste and virgin polymer) has been discussed. Further oil sorbent efficiency in terms of oil sorption capacity has been described.