Oil Sorbent Mate Materials from Natural Rubber Foam and Biomass Fiber Composites

This research is a study of the effects of the type and quantity of biomass fiber composites on the development of oil absorbent materials from natural rubber foam and biomass fiber composites. Two types of biomass fiber composites were used: cattail fibers and cassava solid waste fibers. It was found that foam rubber mixed with the ratio of 3 phr (parts per hundred rubber) biomass fiber composites gave the best oil absorption and therefore the optimum ratio for mixing in natural rubber foam. In addition, oil absorption performance was tested using seven different types of oils. It was observed that the foam with biomass fiber composites performed best in absorbing diesel oil. Specifically, cattail fiber-reinforced foam exhibited a significantly higher oil absorption capacity compared to natural rubber foam, with an increase of up to 36.94%. This was in contrast to cassava solid waste fiber-reinforced foam, which made the foam more hydrophilic, as evidenced by the Water Contact Angle test. Furthermore, characterization was carried out using FTIR spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), which revealed differences in the structure of biomass-reinforced foam. Therefore, the addition of biomass fiber composites had an impact on the oil absorption performance of the natural rubber foam.