Kinetic models fitted with the data of adsorption conducted under the optimized conditions (i.e., 0.2 g of biomass, 1000 mg L⁻¹ of initial oil concentration, 35°C, 100 rpm of agitation speed, and 7.5 of initial pH) in a period of 90 s.

<p>The bars represent the standard errors.</p

Fitting results of the kinetic and isotherm models to adsorption data of emulsified oil by <i>A. polytricha</i>.

<p>Fitting results of the kinetic and isotherm models to adsorption data of emulsified oil by <i>A. polytricha</i>.</p

Scanning electron micrographs of <i>A. polytricha</i> lower surface (A) before oil adsorption, (B) after oil adsorption, and (C) after thermal volatilization desorption; and upper suface (D) before oil adsorption, (E) after oil adsorption, and (F) after thermal volatilization desorption.

<p>Scanning electron micrographs of <i>A. polytricha</i> lower surface (A) before oil adsorption, (B) after oil adsorption, and (C) after thermal volatilization desorption; and upper suface (D) before oil adsorption, (E) after oil adsorption, and (F) after thermal volatilization desorption.</p

Comparison of oil adsorption capacities of <i>A. polytricha</i> and some sorbents in the literature.

<p>Comparison of oil adsorption capacities of <i>A. polytricha</i> and some sorbents in the literature.</p

The L₁₆(4⁵) orthogonal array for the experimental design.

a<p>Temp., Init. Conc., Agita. Speed, and Adsorp. Capacity denote the adsoption temperature, initial concentrations of emulsified oil, speed of agitation, and the adsoption capacity under the designed conditions, respectively.</p

Isotherm models fitted with the data of adsorption of emulsified oil onto <i>A. polytricha</i> from a batch experiment conducted with different initial oil concentrations ranging from 200 to 3500 mg L⁻¹ and other conditions: 0.2 g of biomass, 35°C, 100 rpm of agitation speed, and 7.5 of initial pH.

<p>The bars represent the standard errors.</p

Results of the separation factor.

<p>Results of the separation factor.</p

Results from the L₁₆ (4⁵) orthogonal array experiments.

a<p>Init. Conc. and Agita. Speed denote the initial concentrations of emulsified oil and the speed of agitation, respectively.</p>b<p><i>E_i</i> (<i>i</i> = 1, 2, 3, 4) denotes the effectiveness (mg g⁻¹) of the variables at the <i>i</i>th level.</p