The Use of Oil-Cake (Sunflower) in the Depollution of Petroleum Infested Water

Abstract

"Oil pollution of surface and groundwater is an undesirable phenomenon but it is possible to happen. The pollutant can appear as a result of leaks from the transport pipelines, the damage of the oil extraction and processing installations, and the distribution states of the petroleum products. In the vast majority of interventions to combat pollution, polymeric sorbents are used which are spread over the pollutant and then washed with warm water. This technology does not completely clean the pollutants, and the polymeric sorbents are difficult to remove. Oil-cake (sunflower) is a grated residue after oil extraction and contains the amino acid lysine and high content of fiber and methionine. At a quantity of 100 kg of sunflower seeds, a processor obtains a quantity of 35 kg of residual mass consisting of a sunflower meal. This product can be used as a sorbent for petroleum products, being then used to produce green energy. The physical properties of two sorbent substances (sunflower oil and peat) are presented. Also, their adsorption capacities for four pollutants specific to the oil industry (gasoline, diesel, paraffin oil and sulfur oil) are analyzed, as well as the adsorption kinetics. The adsorption equations of the pollutants are also described."