Sapropels as a source of sorbents for cleaning the surface of water areas from petroleum products

Sorbents were obtained during the heat treatment of sapropels and the effect of sapropel type and processing temperatures on the properties of these materials were studied. The adsorption activity of sapropel-based sorbents for the purification of water surface from oil, gasoline and diesel fuel was investigated. Comparison of sorbents obtained by heat treatment of 110, 300 and 600 °C, according to the main parameters: oil capacity, buoyancy, and water absorption was carried out. The resulting sorbents effectively work on the surface of both fresh and salt water. Sorbents based on organic sapropels have been found to exhibit higher values of buoyancy (up to 504 hours) and sorption properties in comparison with sapropel sorbents of silica type. Along with good capacity, sorbents obtained from organic sapropel after their pretreatment at 300 °C have the maximum buoyancy and hydrophobic properties, and they can be recommended for sorption of crude oil, diesel fuel and gasoline from the surface of any water.