Study of the Effectiveness of Using Industrial Porous Polymer Films, Foams, and Fiber Materials as Sorbents for Petroleum Products

Abstract

A comparative analysis of the structure and sorption properties of nano- and microporous materials based on large-capacity industrial polymers in the form of films, fibers, nonwoven and foam materials, including those manufactured as packaging materials, geotextiles, and medical devices, was carried out. It has been shown that the sorption capacity, sorption kinetics and buoyancy of the studied materials are determined by the geometric size and shape of the sorbent, the size and volume of the pores. The most effective were foam materials (polyurethane foam, polyethylene foam), which retain buoyancy at high sorption capacity (17–39 g/g). The possibility of using porous polymer materials as carriers of bacteria-biodegraders of oil and oil products has been demonstrated.