Obtainment of absorbent pellets based on Raque (Vallea stipularis L. F.) sawdust, species with presence in the municipality of Tenjo, Cundinamarca.

Abstract

The agro-industrial area provides different materials with capacity of reutilization, coming from each one of the stages of diverse food and non-food industrial processes. Considering this aspect, Raque (Vallea stipularis L. f.) sawdust is a useful element for absorbing hydrophilic and hydrophobic liquids when spills of harmful materials that require immediate containment are generated. The objective of the present work was to elaborate a vegetal pellet from Raque, with absorbent characteristics for the removal of liquid substances of daily use, in areas of spills. With a previously physically treated plant material, the pellets were prepared by using a pelletizer, in order to obtain a pellet diameter of 8.55 mm, where it was subsequently exposed to tests of absorption and resistance against six samples of conventional liquids, thus evaluating the effect of the pellet size and weight on absorption, by quantifying variables such as the real density and porosity of each pellet, and then calculating the removal performance of each sawdust pellet for each volume of liquid sample used. Raque absorbent pellets have a potential utility in case of liquid spills on various surfaces, because they have porosities ranging from 80 % to 93 %. The results obtained showed greater affinity in the structure of the solid pellet with fatty liquids and acids, without causing greater variations in the form of the solid pellet. In addition, the Raque sawdust pellet, with a size of 4 mm in length and a weight of 0.1 g, shows higher removal efficiency with respect to each of the liquid samples used.