The adsorption capacity of coconut coir was evaluated to determine its applicability as an oil spill adsorbent. Adsorption capacities of 7231 and 6530 mg/g were achieved for pure coconut coir for the adsorption of vegetable oil and diesel fuel, respectively. The ratio of oil adsorbency to water adsorbency was greater than 1 for vegetable oil and less than 1 for diesel fuel. With the impregnation of coconut coir with human hair,
water adsorbency was reduced and adsorption capacities for vegetable oil and diesel fuel increased to 8814 and 7916 mg/g, respectively. The adsorption capacities for both vegetable and
diesel fuel were inversely related to temperature. The
adsorption kinetic followed a pseudo-second order kinetic
model. With the modification of coconut coir to reduce its
water adsorbency, it could potentially be used as a low- cost
adsorbent for the cleanup of oil spills in oily water.