Surface modification of alginate sponge using tannic acid and dodecanethiol for diesel oil spill separation from water

Ronald Wijaya; Kuan-Chen Cheng; Shella Permatasari Santoso; Shin-Ping Lin; Jindrayani Nyoo Putro; Jenni Lie; Chang-Wei Hsieh; Hsien-Yi Hsu; Alchris Woo Go; Artik Elisa Angkawijaya

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.144453

Surface modification of alginate sponge using tannic acid and dodecanethiol for diesel oil spill separation from water

Int J Biol Macromol. 2025 Jun;317(Pt 2):144453. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.144453. Epub 2025 May 22.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Chemical Engineering Department, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan.
² Institute of Food Science and Technology, National Taiwan University, Daan District, Taipei City 10617, Taiwan; Institute of Biotechnology, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd., Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Optometry, Asia University, 500, Lioufeng Rd., Wufeng, Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, 91, Hsueh-Shih Rd., Taichung, Taiwan; Department of Food Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, No. 510, Zhongzheng Rd., Xinzhuang Dist., New Taipei City 242062, Taiwan.
³ Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Katolik Widya Mandala Surabaya, Jl. Kalijudan No. 37, Surabaya 60114, East Java, Indonesia; Chemical Engineering Master Program, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Katolik Widya Mandala Surabaya, Jl. Kalijudan No. 37, Surabaya 60114, East Java, Indonesia; Collaborative Research Center for Zero Waste and Sustainability, Universitas Katolik Widya Mandala Surabaya, Jl. Kalijudan No. 37, Surabaya 60114, East Java, Indonesia. Electronic address: shella@ukwms.ac.id.
⁴ School of Food Safety, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing Street, Taipei 11031, Taiwan; Ph.D. Program in Drug Discovery and Development Industry, College of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing Street, Taipei 11031, Taiwan; Research Center of Biomedical Device, Taipei Medical University, 250 Wu-Hsing Street, Taipei 11031, Taiwan.
⁵ Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Katolik Widya Mandala Surabaya, Jl. Kalijudan No. 37, Surabaya 60114, East Java, Indonesia; Chemical Engineering Master Program, Faculty of Engineering, Universitas Katolik Widya Mandala Surabaya, Jl. Kalijudan No. 37, Surabaya 60114, East Java, Indonesia; Collaborative Research Center for Zero Waste and Sustainability, Universitas Katolik Widya Mandala Surabaya, Jl. Kalijudan No. 37, Surabaya 60114, East Java, Indonesia.
⁶ Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, National Chung Hsing University, South Dist., Taichung City 402202, Taiwan; Department of Food Science, National Ilan University, Shennong Road, Yilan City 260007, Taiwan; Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung City 404333, Taiwan.
⁷ School of Energy and Environment, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Centre for Functional Photonics (CFP), City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong, China; Shenzhen Research Institute of City University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen 518057, P. R. China.
⁸ Chemical Engineering Department, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan; School of Engineering, University of San Carlos - Talamban Campus, Gov. M. Cuenco, Cebu City, Philippines 6000.
⁹ Center for Sustainable Resource Science, RIKEN, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan. Electronic address: artikelisa.angkawijaya@riken.jp.

PMID: 40412688
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.144453

Abstract

An environmentally friendly absorbent sponge was successfully developed for diesel spill remediation via alginate polymer crosslinking followed by surface modification using tannic acid and dodecanethiol (TA/Do). The optimal sponge was obtained with a 3 h crosslinking duration, achieving a balance between absorption performance and structural durability, while longer crosslinking times led to increased density and reduced efficiency. Surface modification imparted hydrophobicity to the alginate sponge, confirmed by a water contact angle of 120.2°, and the successful incorporation of TA/Do was confirmed from FTIR and XPS analysis. The modified sponge (AA-3-TA/Do) exhibited a diesel absorption capacity of 17.54 g/g-a 36 % increase over the unmodified form-and retained ∼90 % of this capacity after 34 absorption-desorption cycles. Kinetic modeling showed that diesel was rapidly absorbed during early contact, with faster uptake than water. A cytotoxicity assay confirmed its non-toxic nature, indicating environmental compatibility. This study demonstrates that a simple, scalable modification using accessible materials can significantly enhance oil sorbent performance without requiring complex techniques or hazardous reagents.

Keywords: Alginate sponge; Diesel absorption; Oil spill management.

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Alginates* / chemistry
Gasoline*
Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
Kinetics
Petroleum Pollution*
Polyphenols
Sulfhydryl Compounds* / chemistry
Surface Properties
Tannins* / chemistry
Water / chemistry
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / chemistry
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / isolation & purification

Substances

Alginates
Tannins
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Water
Gasoline
Sulfhydryl Compounds
tannic acid
Polyphenols