The Use of Natural Sorbents for Spilled Crude Oil and Diesel Cleanup from the Water Surface

Paulauskienė, T.; Jucikė, I.; Juščenko, N.; Baziukė, D.

The Use of Natural Sorbents for Spilled Crude Oil and Diesel Cleanup from the Water Surface

2014

Paulauskienė, T. | Jucikė, I. | Juščenko, N. | Baziukė, D.

Oil spills impose serious damage to the environment. A spilled crude oil or its products affect aquatic flora and fauna and influence the atmosphere as well. Such pollutants are especially dangerous for the water ecosystems, where biological self-purification processes are slower (for example the Baltic Sea), than in warmer regions. In this paper, we evaluate a sorption capacity of ecologically friendly natural sorbents, when the crude oil and diesel are spilled on the surface of water. The experiments are carried out in the laboratory, and the water from the Lithuanian Baltic Sea coastline and Curonian Lagoon is used. Moss, straw, wool, sawdust, and peat are the natural sorbents evaluated during the experiments. Chromatographic analysis of crude oil and diesel during the process of sorption was conducted as well. An experiment with some synthetic sorbents was carried out to compare the results with natural ones. The experiments showed that the most suitable material for crude oil or diesel fuel spilled on the water surface is peat. As well, Lagergren’s model was adopted to the case of the sorption processes we have investigated. It can be exploited as a decision support tool while deciding the required time interval to achieve maximum sorption capacity of the sorbent in use.

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