Researchers from Kazan State University of Energy Engineering (KSEU) have found a way to remove oil pollution of water bodies using a sorbent from chemical water treatment sludge, which is the waste of thermal power plants.
It is formed in the pre-treatment stage of natural water and almost all of it, except 2%, is thrown into sludge collectors. The hydrophobicity of the sludge – its ability to reject water – has been increased to increase “absorbency”. For this, they also used a by-product – the waste of chemical enterprises formed during the destruction of rubber.
Project manager Larisa Nikolaeva said that the resulting hydrophobic carbonate sludge clears the water surface from oil spills with an efficiency of 95-98%. The researcher states that the material collected with the sorbent can be used as a secondary energy source.
Testing of the new material on crustaceans and guppy fish showed that the water treated with it was not toxic. The scientists also conducted an experiment to remove oil pollution in the settling pond of Mari Pulp and Paper Mill. Researchers emphasize that the effectiveness is more than 99%.
Source: Ferra
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