Glauconite-Based Sorbents for Skimming Oil and Oil Products

Abstract

Natural glauconite-based sorbents were obtained for skimming oil and oil products from different surfaces. Glauconite is an aluminosilicate mineral and is widely used for cleaning various pollutants from water and soil. The classifi cation allowed selecting a glauconite fraction with a particle size of 0.045-0.1 mm, which is the most effective for the sorption of oil products. For this, the sorbent was thermally activated and modifi ed using organic compounds. The glauconite samples were thermally treated at temperatures of 100, 600, and 1000 °C. To provide glauconite with hydrophobic properties, it was modifi ed with stearic acid. When the sorbents came into contact with water (duration 92 hours), it was found that with the mass fraction of stearic acid of 5 wt% the lowest weight loss was observed in all the three samples. The contact angle of wetting for sorbents is greater than 90°, which led to a change in the state of its surface. The obtained samples were not wetted with water and could remain on its surface for a long time. The interaction of oil and a hydrophobic sorbent showed that after seven minutes the particles of the sorbent penetrated the oil that also has a hydrophobic surface and can sorb a surfactant applied on the sorbent, which indicates the affi nity of stearic acid to oil. A granular sorbent, thermally activated at a temperature of 1000°C and modifi ed with a cellulose-containing component, sorbed the oil for 2 minutes. The use of this modifi er increased the sorbent porosity, which affected the sorption rate.

Keywords

• glauconite
• sorbent modifi cation methods
• hydrophobicity
• oil spill clean-up.