Removal of petroleum tar from bird feathers utilizing magnetic particles.

Dao, Hien; Maher, Lauren; Ngeh, Lawrence; Bigger, Stephen; Orbell, John; Healy, Margaret; Jessop, Rosalind; Dann, Peter

A previously reported acute temperature dependency for the effective removal of tarry residue from feather clusters, utilising magnetic particles, has also been demonstrated to occur for the plumage of whole birds, whereby a maximum removal of up to 96% may be achieved. The experimental design allows an approximate equilibrium constant, for the distribution of contaminant between the residue and the magnetic particles, to be estimated at each temperature. This allows the thermodynamics of the process to be examined via application of the van't Hoff equation, suggesting an explanation for the phenomenon.

AVIAN anatomy; BODY covering (Anatomy); TAR; THERMODYNAMICS; CLUSTERING of particles; EQUILIBRIUM

Environmental Chemistry Letters, 2006, Vol 4, Issue 2, p111

1610-3653

Academic Journal

10.1007/s10311-006-0048-z