Application of HACCP for development of quality risk management in a water purification system

Abstract The present work reports the implementation of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) methodology to analyze the water purification system of a pharmaceutical site, in order to assure the system quality and prevent failures. As a matter of fact, the use of HACCP for development and implementation of Quality Risk Management (QRM) is not usual in pharmaceutical plants and it is applied here to improve the performance of the water purification system of a polymerization pilot plant used to manufacture pharmaceutical grade polymer microparticles. Critical Control Points (CCP) were determined with the aid of a decision tree and questions were made to characterize whether identified hazards constitute actual CCPs and should be monitored. When deviations were detected, corrective actions were performed and action plans were used for following-up and implementation of corrective actions. Finally, microbiological and physicochemical parameters were analyzed and the obtained results were regarded as appropriate. Therefore, it is shown that HACCP constitutes an effective tool for identification of hazards, establishment of corrective actions and monitoring of the critical control points that impact the process and the quality of the final pharmaceutical product most significantly.

Moringa oleifera Plant as potent alternate to Chemical Coagulant in Water Purification

Abstract Quality of groundwater is threatened due to pollution by industrial, domestic and agricultural waste. A large number of populations are residing in rural areas which are unable to afford high cost water purifiers due to their low income as well as limited awareness. However, limited availability of fresh water has become a critical issue in developing countries. Around 1.2 billion population is deprived of affordable and safe water for their domestic need. Additionally, chemical coagulants which are nowadays being used for water purification pose severe and numerous health hazards to human. Thus utilization of easily accessible natural coagulant for water purification might offer a sustainable, practical and cost effective solution to the current alarming situation in developing countries. Several experimental findings have shown strong efficiency of Moringa oleifera plant extracts obtained from different solvents in the improvement of water quality parameters including physicochemical (such as pH, hardness, turbidity, metallic impurities, total dissolved solid) and biological (E.coli count) parameter. We have also highlighted the limitations and advantages of chemical coagulation in water purification. Altogether, this review summarizes one such miracle tree which has shown significant potential as a natural coagulant and its associated underlying mechanism in water purification process.

TiO2@HNTs Robustly Decorated PVDF Membrane Prepared by a Bioinspired Accurate-Deposition Strategy for Complex Corrosive Wastewater Treatment.

As industrialization has spread all around the world, the problems of water pollution such as offshore oil spill and industrial sewage discharge have spread with it. Although many new separation materials have been successfully developed to deal with this crisis, a large number of water treatment materials only focus on the treatment of classified single water pollutant under mild conditions. It is a great challenge to treat soluble contaminants such as water-soluble dyes and insoluble contaminants, for example, emulsified oils simultaneously in a strong corrosive environment. Herein, in this work, corrosive resistance and multifunctional surface on a commercial polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membrane via a tunicate-inspired gallic acid-assisted accurate-deposition strategy is created. Owing to the titanium-carboxylic coordination bonding and accurate-deposition strategy, the as-prepared membrane exhibits extraordinary stability, facing various harsh environmental challenges and incredibly corrosive situations (e.g., 4 M NaOH, 4 M HCl, and saturated NaCl solution). The robust multifunctional surface also endows commercial PVDF membrane with the ability for in situ separation and adsorption of surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water (corrosive and dyed) emulsions with high adsorption efficiencies up to 99.9%, separation efficiencies above 99.6%, and permeation flux as high as 15,698 ± 211 L/(m2·h·bar). Furthermore, the resultant membrane can be regenerated facilely and rapidly by flushing a small amount of HCl (4 M) or NaOH (4 M), making the corrosive resistance membrane attain a long-term and high-efficiency application for complex dyed wastewater treatment. Therefore, the multifunctional membrane has a broad application prospect in the industrial field.

A highly efficient nanoscale tapioca starch prepared by high-speed jet for Cu2+ removal in simulated industrial effluent.

BACKGROUND: Nanoscale tapioca starch (NTS) was successfully developed by high-speed jet in our previous study. In this study, the adsorption capacity of Cu2+ onto NTS was further discussed. The optimal adsorption conditions (pH, contact time, contact temperature, initial Cu2+ concentration, and adsorbent concentration), adsorption kinetics, isotherms, and thermodynamic were also evaluated. RESULTS: The results showed that NTS exhibited excellent performance in adsorption of Cu2+ , with adsorption capacities of 122.31 mg g-1 for Cu2+ (pH 7, 0.04 g L-1 , 0.2 g L-1 , 313.15 K and 10 min). The pseudo-second-order and Langmuir isotherms models could be used to explain the adsorption kinetics and adsorption equilibrium, respectively. The thermodynamic results showed that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic with an increase in entropy. Cu2+ was adsorbed onto NTS, which was confirmed by energy dispersive spectrometry analysis. CONCLUSION: These findings indicated that NTS might be an effective, environment-friendly and renewable bio-resource adsorbent for removing heavy metals in industrial effluent. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Preparation and characterization of PAN nanofibers containing boehmite nanoparticles for the removal of microbial contaminants and cadmium ions from water.

Nanofibers of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/boehmite were prepared by electrospinning a homogeneous solution of PAN/DMF (dimethyl formamide). Enhancing the amount of boehmite nanoparticles (NPs) led to increase in the nanofibers' diameter. Samples had high pure water flux, which did not change significantly with boehmite concentration, but decreased with increasing electrospinning duration. Escherichia coli bacteria removal was remarkably more efficient, as it was enhanced from 72.33% to 97.37% with increase in the boehmite NPs' concentration from 0 to 10% wt. High bacterial removal efficiency could be attained by the large surface area of NPs, as well as the electrostatic force of attraction between NPs and microorganisms. The increase in boehmite concentration from 10 to 30 and 50% did not noticeably affect bacterial removal. Prolonging electrospinning time significantly enhanced bacteria removal. Hence, it was shown that 6-hour electrospinning of PAN/boehmite nanofiber layers composed of 50% boehmite led to 99.7%, 99.39%, 99.8%, and 74% E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus bacteria removal, particles' separation efficiency of 2 µm and cadmium adsorptivity, respectively, which were better than those obtained by using pure PAN nanofibers. E. coli bacterial removal efficiency of the sample was increased to 99.99% by repeating filtering four times. Considering the results, this PAN/boehmite nanofibers' membrane has potential application to purification of drinking water.

Synthesis and photocatalytic degradation activities of phosphorus containing ZnO microparticles under visible light irradiation for water treatment applications.

A series of phosphorus containing ZnO (P-ZnO) photocatalysts with various percentages of phosphorus were successfully synthesized using the hydrothermal method. The structural, physical and optical properties of the obtained microparticles were investigated using diverse techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible diffusion reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis DRS), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and N2 adsorption-desorption analysis. The photocatalytic activities of the pure and P-ZnO samples were evaluated for the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. The parameters such as pH, catalyst dosage, contaminant concentration and effect of persulfate as an oxidant were studied. It was found that the P-ZnO1.8% photocatalyst could destroy 99% of RhB (5 ppm) in 180 min at pH = 7; furthermore, it degraded ∼100% of 5 and 10 ppm of the RhB pollutant in 120 and 180 min, respectively, only by adding 0.01 g of persulfate into the reaction solution. To determine the photocatalytic mechanism, 2-propanol, benzoquinone and EDTA were used and it was indicated that hydroxyl radicals, superoxide ions and holes, all had major roles in the photocatalytic degradation but the hydroxyl radical effect was the most significant. The phenol degradation was also investigated using the P-ZnO1.8% optimum photocatalyst which could destroy 53% of the phenol (5 ppm) in 180 min. According to the reusability test, it was proved that after 5 cycles, the catalyst activity was not highly changed and it was potentially capable of pollutant degradation.

Long-term pollutant removal performance and mitigation of rainwater quality deterioration with ceramsite and Cyperus alternifolius in mountainous cities of China.

Rainwater harvesting brings various desired environmental and social benefits in urban development. Tanks in rainwater harvesting systems need low-maintenance and low-cost approaches to manage water quality, especially for scattered small rainwater tanks associated with complex terrains in mountainous cities. Four rain barrels were set up to store roof runoff at the campus of Chongqing University, Chongqing, China. Barrel 1 (B1) and barrel 2 (B2) stored the first-flush water and the roof runoff with first-flush water diverted, respectively, while barrel 3 (B3) was loaded with a biological ceramsite and barrel 4 (B4) used biological ceramsite as a substrate media and planted with Cyperus alternifolius (C. alternifolius) to treat the first-flush water. The performances of the rain barrels were evaluated as well as the variations in water quality parameters were examined. The removal efficiency of B3 was 48.2%, 76.0%, 44.3%, and 24.6% for COD, NH4+-N, TN, and TP, respectively, while B4 had removal efficiencies of 93.4%, 71.0%, 75.0%, and 76.5% for COD, NH4+-N, TN, and TP, respectively. B4 had BOD, NH4+-N, TN, and TP concentrations within the class III Chinese Standard requirement after a storage period of about 240 days. Furthermore, the turbidity in B4 kept dropping. Thus, B4 is a more promising alternative for water quality management in mountainous cities of China.

Decolorization and phytotoxicity reduction in an innovative anaerobic/aerobic photobioreactor treating textile wastewater.

The potential of a novel anaerobic/aerobic algal-bacterial photobioreactor for the treatment of synthetic textile wastewater (STWW) was here assessed. Algal-bacterial symbiosis supported total organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous removal efficiencies of 78 ±â€¯2%, 47 ±â€¯2% and 26 ±â€¯2%, respectively, at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 8 days. A decrease in the HRT from 8 to 4 and 2 days resulted in a slight decrease in organic carbon and phosphate removal, but a sharp decrease in nitrogen removal. Moreover, an efficient decolorization of 99 ±â€¯1% and 96 ±â€¯3% for disperse orange-3 and of disperse blue-1, respectively, was recorded. The effective STWW treatment supported by the anaerobic/aerobic algal-bacterial photobioreactor was confirmed by the reduction in wastewater toxicity towards Raphanus sativus seed germination and growth. These results highlighted the potential of this innovative algal-bacterial photobioreactor configuration for the treatment of textile wastewater and water reuse.

Bifunctional bimetallic heterojunction material based on Al2O3/ZnO micro flowers for electrochemical sensing and catalysis.

We report the synthesis, characterization, electrochemical sensing and catalytic capability of the bimetallic heterojunction Al2O3/ZnO micro flowers (AZ MFs). In order to prepare this bifunctional material, the facile hydrothermal process was adopted. The material was thoroughly characterized for the crystal structure and morphology with Powder XRD, XPS and FE-SEM. The investigation of electrochemical sensing was done using hydroquinone (HQ) and the chemical catalysis was using rhodamine B (RhB) with our bimetallic Al2O3/ZnO micro flowers as these are harmful industrial pollutants. The process parameters like the influence of scan rate and pH was efficiently optimized for the electrochemical detection of HQ and kinetics for the time dependent catalytic degradation of RhB dye. The linear relationship between the peak current and the concentration of HQ was found to be in the range of 0.125-20.25 µM with an impressive detection limit of 11.2 nM. In the chemical catalytic degradation of the RhB dye, our bimetallic material thrived well during the reaction and degraded the material in 10 min. The performance of bimetallic Al2O3/ZnO micro flowers towards HQ detection and RhB degradation shows good stability, reproducibility and it can be efficiently utilized to treat the environmental pollutants.

Nitrogen and phosphorus removal from wastewater by sand with wheat straw.

Wheat straw amendment to sandy soil has the potential to remove nutrients from wastewater. This study investigated the ability of wheat straw to remove inorganic nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from wastewater when mixed into sand at different rates. Wastewater from a sewage treatment plant was added to sand alone and amended with different wheat straw rates 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, and 12.5 g wheat straw kg-1 so that the sand was covered with about 15 cm of wastewater. Leaching was carried out after 4, 8, and 16 days and inorganic N and P were analysed after leaching in both the leachate and sand, as well as N2O and CO2 release. In the amended sand, nitrate was about fourfold lower throughout the experiment compared to sand alone. Ammonium was twofold higher than sand alone at 12.5 g straw kg-1 throughout the experiment and on day 16 also at ≥ 5 g straw kg-1. Leachate inorganic N concentration was up to 70-fold higher in sand alone than in amended soils irrespective of straw rate. On day 16, P leaching was about threefold lower and P retention was 40% higher in all amended treatments than sand alone. The redox potential in sand alone was higher than with straw amendments. With straw amendment, the release of CO2 per day was six times higher than with sand alone and increased with straw rates, but very little N2O and CH4 was released throughout the experiment. It can be concluded that amendment of sand with wheat straw can remove large proportions of inorganic N and P from wastewater, even at low straw rates. Likely mechanisms for retention are dissimilatory nitrate reduction and subsequent binding of ammonium to straw for N, and binding to the straw and microbial uptake for P.

Nutrient removal in an algal membrane photobioreactor: effects of wastewater composition and light/dark cycle.

Graesiella emersonii was cultivated in an osmotic membrane photobioreactor (OMPBR) for nutrients removal from synthetic wastewater in continuous mode. At 1.5 days of hydraulic retention time and under continuous illumination, the microalgae removed nitrogen (N) completely at influent NH4+-N concentrations of 4-16 mg/L, with removal rates of 3.03-12.1 mg/L-day. Phosphorus (P) removal in the OMPBR was through biological assimilation as well as membrane rejection, but PO43--P assimilation by microalgae could be improved at higher NH4+-N concentrations. Microalgae biomass composition was affected by N/P ratio in wastewater, and a higher N/P ratio resulted in higher P accumulation in the biomass. The OMPBR accumulated about 0.35 g/L biomass after 12 days of operation under continuous illumination. However, OMPBR operation under 12 h light/12 h dark cycle lowered biomass productivity by 60%, which resulted in 20% decrease in NH4+-N removal and nearly threefold increase in PO43--P accumulation in the OMPBR. Prolonged dark phase also affected carbohydrate accumulation in biomass, although its effects on lipid and protein accumulation were negligible. The microalgae also exhibited high tendency to aggregate and settle, which could be attributed to reduction in cell surface charge and enrichment of soluble algal products in the OMPBR. Due to a relatively shorter operating period, membrane biofouling and salt accumulation did not influence the permeate flux significantly. These results improve the understanding of the effects of N/P ratio and light/dark cycle on biomass accumulation and nutrients removal in the OMPBR.

Preparation and Characterization of Cellulose Grafted with Epoxidized Soybean Oil Aerogels for Oil-Absorbing Materials.

The absorbent materials synthesized from biosources with low cost and high selectivity for oils and organic solvents have attracted increasing attention in the field of oil spillage and discharge of organic chemicals. We developed a convenient surface-grafting method to prepare efficient and recyclable biobased aerogels from epoxidized soybean oil (ESO)-modified cellulose at room temperature. The porous network-like structure of the cellulose aerogel was still fully retained after undergoing hydrophobic modification with ESO. Moreover, the modified aerogels possessed excellent hydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 132.6°. Moreover, the absorbent ability of the hydrophobic cellulose aerogels was systematically assessed. The results showed that modified aerogels could retain more than 90% absorption capacity even after 30 absorption-desorption cycles, indicating that the ESO-grafted cellulose aerogels have practical applications in the oil-water separation from industrial wastewater and oil-leakage removal.

Migration and transformation of different phosphorus forms in rainfall runoff in bioretention system.

Artificial bioretention system consisting of Ophiopogon japonicus infiltration medium was used to simulate an infiltration experiment of rainfall runoff. Continuous extraction method was used to detect contents of inorganic phosphorus (P) under exchangeable state (Ex-P) and aluminium phosphate (Al-P) and iron phosphate (Fe-P) at different depths (0, 5, 15 and 35 cm) of soil infiltration medium in bioretention system. Effluent total P (TP) concentration of the system was also monitored. Results indicated that the adsorption of inorganic P, Al-P and Fe-P by soil infiltration medium was implemented layer by layer from top to bottom and gradually weakened. Moreover, Ex-P was gradually transformed into Al-P and Fe-P, whereas Al-P was gradually transformed into Fe-P; thus, Ex-P content reduced layer by layer, whereas Al-P and Fe-P gradually accumulated. The TP removal rate in runoff rainwater by the system was more than 90%, where the TP that was not used by plants was under dynamic equilibrium in water-soil-root system/biological system.

A novel operational strategy to enhance wastewater treatment with dual-anode assembled microbial desalination cell.

This study introduced a novel dual-anode assembled microbial desalination cell to enhance the performance of domestic wastewater treatment. Two parallel units were fabricated with two anodes and one cathode, which is separated by two ion exchange membrane stacks. A hollow fiber membrane module was inserted in the cathode to intercept suspended solids and microbes. Based on preliminary experiments where synthetic wastewater was utilized, anode hydraulic retention time of 10 h and cathode aeration rate of 0.16 m3/h were chosen as the operating conditions. By innovatively connecting four membrane stacks in cascades, which multiplied flow rate without adding extra circulation pumps, the desalination rate of the system was improved 214.8% compared with single membrane stack mode. When modified domestic wastewater was applied, the average removal efficiencies of chemical oxygen demand, ammonia nitrogen, total nitrogen and total phosphorous reached 96.9%, 99.0%, 98.0% and 98.3%, respectively.

Effects of Hydraulic Loading Rate on Nutrients Removal from Anaerobically Digested Swine Wastewater by Multi Soil Layering Treatment Bioreactor.

A multi soil layering (MSL) treatment bioreactor was developed aiming at nutrients removal from anaerobically digested swine wastewater (ADSW). The start-up of the MSL bioreactor and its performance in nutrients removal at different hydraulic loading rate (HLR) were investigated. Results showed that the MSL bioreactor was successfully started up after operation for 28 days, and at this time, the removal efficiencies of ammonia-N, total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) in the ADSW reached 63.6%, 58.5%, and 46.5%, respectively. The MSL bioreactor showed a stable performance during the whole working process with varying HLR from 80 to 200 L/(m²·day). Maximum removal efficiencies of ammonia-N, TN and TP were obtained at 160 L/(m²·day), and was appeared as 94.2%, 94.4%, and 92.5%, respectively. It was worth noting that iron scraps were the key factor that enhanced the independent capability of the MSL bioreactor in TP removal, because there was only 21.4⁻25.8% of the TP was removed when the MSL bioreactor run with no iron addition.

Efficient treatment of dairy processing wastewater in a laboratory scale Intermittently Aerated Sequencing Batch Reactor (IASBR).

This Research Communication describes an investigation into the viability of an Intermittently Aerated Sequencing Batch Reactor (IASBR) for the treatment of dairy processing wastewater at laboratory-scale. A number of operational parameters have been varied and the effect has been monitored in order to determine optimal conditions for maximising removal efficiencies. These operational parameters include Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT), Solids Retention Time (SRT), aeration rate and cycle length. Real dairy processing wastewater and synthetic wastewater have been treated using three laboratory-scale IASBR units in a temperature controlled room. When the operational conditions were established, the units were seeded using sludge from a municipal wastewater treatment plant for the first experiment, and sludge from a dairy processing factory for the second and third experiment. In experiment three, the reactors were fed on real wastewater from the wastewater treatment plant at this dairy processing factory. These laboratory-scale systems will be used to demonstrate over time that the IASBR system is a consistent, viable option for treatment of dairy processing wastewater in this sector. In this study, the capacity of a biological system to remove both nitrogen and phosphorus within one reactor will be demonstrated. The initial operational parameters for a pilot-scale IASBR system will be derived from the results of the study.

Efficient treatment of dairy processing wastewater in a pilot scale Intermittently Aerated Sequencing Batch Reactor (IASBR).

This Research Communication describes the initial operation of a pilot-scale intermittently aerated sequencing batch reactor system, which is located at an Irish dairy processing factory. Laboratory-scale research has facilitated the design specifications and operational parameters necessary for the construction and running of a pilot-scale. Laboratory scale research was necessary prior to the pilot scale system to ensure high quality treatment and nutrient removal efficiencies. The pilot system operates with a hydraulic retention time of 4 d, a solids retention time of 16 d and a cycle length of 12 hours. There are 4 non-aeration and aeration phases within the system's react phase. This system has a 3000 l working volume, treating 375 l of wastewater per cycle, 750 l daily. The system was seeded from an aeration tank at the dairy processing factory where the unit is located. The system is operating with the goal to remove both nitrogen and phosphorus from the wastewater biologically, reducing the need for chemical treatment. Currently, the system is performing with high efficiency, treating the wastewater to an acceptable level according to the Irish Environmental Protection Agency for discharge into surrounding water bodies. Therefore, the initial removal results demonstrate this technology's suitability for the treatment of high strength dairy wastewaters.

Coffee processing industrial wastewater treatment using batch electrochemical coagulation with stainless steel and Fe electrodes and their combinations, and recovery and reuse of sludge.

The efficiency of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color removal from raw coffee processing wastewater (CPWW) using batch electrochemical coagulation (BECC) treatment process using stainless steel (SS) and iron (Fe) electrode combinations are investigated. Of the combinations: four SS, four Fe, Fe-Fe-SS-SS, Fe-SS-Fe-SS, SS-SS-Fe-Fe, and SS-Fe-SS-Fe; four SS electrodes operated at 23 V having 120 A/m2 current density was found as a good operating condition to achieve ∼87% COD removal from its initial COD of 1,984 mg/L and corresponding color removal of 97.1% (initial color 7,000 PCU). The second best electrode combination, SS-SS-Fe-Fe, had COD and color removals of 75% and 91%. When using polyaluminum chloride (PAC) as aid with different dosages of 20-100 mg/L, 50 mg/L PAC showed maximum COD and color removals of 80% and 92%. Comparison of proximate and ultimate analyses of various solid fuels with CPWW ECC sludge showed its usefulness as a soil supplement and as an adsorbent for reutilization. The solid residue obtained after BECC was characterized using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and other analyses. Summarizing the results, it was concluded that BECC can be effectively used for maximum removal of organics from raw CPWW with clean water reclamations of up to ∼90% using ECC as a novel treatment technique.

Outdoor flat-panel membrane photobioreactor to treat the effluent of an anaerobic membrane bioreactor. Influence of operating, design, and environmental conditions.

As microalgae have the ability to simultaneously remove nutrients from wastewater streams while producing valuable biomass, microalgae-based wastewater treatment is a win-win strategy. Although recent advances have been made in this field in lab conditions, the transition to outdoor conditions on an industrial scale must be further investigated. In this work an outdoor pilot-scale membrane photobioreactor plant was operated for tertiary sewage treatment. The effects of different parameters on microalgae performance were studied including: temperature, light irradiance (solar and artificial irradiance), hydraulic retention time (HRT), biomass retention time (BRT), air sparging system and influent nutrient concentration. In addition the competition between microalgae and ammonium oxidising bacteria for ammonium was also evaluated. Maximum nitrogen and phosphorus removal rates of 12.5 ± 4.2 mgN·L-1·d-1 and 1.5 ± 0.4 mgP·L-1·d-1, respectively, were achieved at a BRT of 4.5 days and HRT of 2.5 days, while a maximum biomass productivity of 78 ± 13 mgVSS·L-1·d-1 (VSS: volatile suspended solids) was reached. While the results obtained so far are promising, they need to be improved to make the transition to industrial scale operations feasible.

Crude oil removal from aqueous solution using raw and carbonized Xanthoceras sorbifolia shells.

Fruit shell residue from Xanthoceras sorbifolia was investigated as a potential biosorbent to remove crude oil from aqueous solution. The shell powder and its carbonized material were compared while assessing various factors that influenced oil removal capacity. The structure and sorption mechanism were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The oil removal capacity of the raw material (75.1 mg g-1) was better than the carbonized material (49.5 mg g-1). The oil removal capacity increased with greater saponin content, indicating that hydrophobic and lipophilic surface characteristics of the saponins improved adsorption by the raw X. sorbifolia shell. An orthogonal experimental design was used to optimize the adsorption. Using 4 g L-1 of raw X. sorbifolia shell (particle size of < 0.15 mm), the highest crude oil removal efficiency was obtained using an initial oil concentration of 400 mg L-1, adsorption temperature of 30 °C, adsorption time of 10 min at a shaking speed of 150 rpm. The adsorption of crude oil onto X. sorbifolia shell was best described using a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Raw X. sorbifolia shell material was more efficient than the carbonized material at crude oil removal from aqueous solution. This was attributable to the functional groups of saponins in raw X. sorbifolia shell. This study highlights that some agricultural and forest residues could be a promising source of low-cost biosorbents for oil contaminants from water-without requiring additional processing such as carbonization.