Hydrophobic sorbents based on ultrathin polymer fibers for trapping oil products

Relevance. Increasing negative effects of hydrocarbon production on aquatic ecosystems and tightening of legislative norms on discharge of oil and oil product contaminated water into marine waters. Among various methods used to remove oil from aqueous solutions the most appropriate one is adsorption method. It is explained by its high degree of purification, safety, availability, manufacturability, universality of application. Synthetic materials based on ultrafine fibers have optimal characteristics for manufacturing sorbents for oil removal on their basis. However, the large-scale application of these materials is limited by their high cost, complexity of manufacturing, which excludes the secondary use of polymers as feedstock. In this regard, there is a growing need for economically and environmentally effective hydrophobic materials for sorptive treatment of aqueous media from oil and petroleum products. Aim. To determine sorption properties of hydrophobic fibrous materials produced via pneumatic formation for use as effective hydrocarbon sorbents for liquidation of oil spills in sea and water treatment on oil production platforms. Objects. Sorbents based on polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate ultrafine fibers. Methods. Gravimetric, spectral analysis, transmission electron microscopy, gas chromatography. Results. The paper introduces the results of investigation of sorption properties of untreated ultrafine fibers obtained by pneumatic atomization and modified by microwave radiation. The authors have carried out the comparative analysis of water absorption and the influence of contact time and acidity of the medium on the degree of sorption of samples obtained from hydrophobic polymers. Promising application of sorbents based on polypropylene ultrathin fibers for oil products extraction from aqueous media was revealed. It is established that modification reduces water absorption of polypropylene sorbents and leads to an insignificant decrease in sorption properties due to changes in the supramolecular structure of polypropylene fiber samples.