A sustainably sourced sorbent for cleaning up oil spills has been formulated by researchers from Guizhou Education University, China. Sphagnum moss serves as the basis of the mopping material, which offers greater absorption capacity and water repellent properties relative to other bio-based options.

Its water purification powers are enhanced by pretreating the moss with hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydroxide, followed by chemical functionalization with silane. This process modified the surface of the plant by degrading the surface fibrous layer and exposing internal hydrophilic groups, resulting in a doubling of itsSphagnum moss can be transformed into an absorbent material to clean up oil spills. Source: EPA-EFE oil absorption capacity while lowering its water absorption.

Test results published in Scientific Reports confirm that the surface-modified sphagnum moss exhibited an enhanced adsorption capacity of 22.756 g/g for motor oil, outperforming conventional bio-based adsorbents including biochar and widely used biological adsorbents.

After adsorption, the volatile organic compounds retained by the sphagnum moss can be effectively recovered via evaporation. In addition, the remediation material is durable and can be reused for numerous oil spill cleanup events as it maintains over 90% of its initial adsorption capacity after 10 cycles.