The Potential of Waste-Derived Sorbents for Absorbing Petroleum Substances in Firefighting Operations

The development of industry and technology, despite making everyday life easier, generates large amounts of various wastes that negatively affect the environment. Unexpected leaks of substances such as oils, petroleum substances, and chemicals also contribute to the degradation of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Long-term effects of environmental pollution require the development of advanced materials and technologies to collect and neutralize pollutants. Sorbents obtained from waste, including banana peels, coconut fibers, and polyurethane foams from recycling the thermal housing of refrigeration devices, allow a reduction in the amount of generated waste and the development of appropriate sorbents. This work focuses on comparing the sorption and neutralization properties of these materials for two types of oil, machine and diesel, and the possibility of using them in rescue and firefighting operations conducted by firefighters. The results obtained indicate that the viscose-cellulose sorbent and the polyurethane foam sorbent are characterized by better performance parameters than sorbents from coffee grounds or coconut fibers. The best parameters were obtained after the first 10 min of the sorbent-contaminant reaction, whereas in the case of contamination with machine oil, the absorption capacity was better than for diesel oil for each sorbent subjected to analysis.