Abstract. The authors investigate the sorption properties of natural materials – wool and peat, as well as woodworking industry wastes – sawdust, which are used for cleaning oil-contaminated soils of Kalmykia. The degree of oil extraction from light chestnut soils using wool is 59.67 %. Applying the multi-component sorbents leads to substantial increase of sorption capacity up to 70.3 %. The studies include the assessment of oil influence on the chemical composition of the soil, the analysis of the content before and after pollution. Oil pollution affects the concentration of water-soluble salts, leads to soils alkalinization and restructuring of the soil-absorbing complex. The study has established that natural sorbents are able to change the chemical composition of oil-contaminated soils. The wool can be reused after washing it with chloroform and regeneration. The repeated use of sorbents lead to reduction of oil consumption by wool by 11.6 %, sawdust – 30.6 %, peat – 6.8 %. Thus, the authors have come to conclusion that the use of natural sorbents is promising in the study and forecasting of areas contaminated with oil and oil products.

Key words: oil-contaminated soils, natural sorbents, oil, wool, sawdust, peat, sorption.