BP Oil Spill
Posted on
May 08, 2010 by
bp complaints
A NEW APPROACH TO THE TREATMENT OF OIL SPILLS – plastic booms and oil skimmers are largely ineffective – dispersants only move oil from the water surface to the entire water column – oleophilic & hydrophobic clay absorbs and contains floating oil spills – the patented clay technology can be applied to the spill via aircraft or broadcast atop the spill from ships using pneumatic devices
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@lanky4571 This clay is already being used to remove oil from produced water on offshore platforms in the North Sea, the Far East, and the Middle East. The oil & gas industry already has the product in their arsenal. If broadcast directly on the floating oil, the clay absorbs the oil in seconds – the clay holds the oil through physical attraction, not chemical reaction. There are no byproducts. Sea floor bacteria will break down the sunken oil mass over time.
I Like it. It could help. Im reposting. TNKX
looks great in the lab. the ocean will not mix the clay as quickly as it was in the beaker. how long do you expect it to take to fully mix in the ocean environment? what is the product of this reaction? will this solid mass effect local fish and wildlife? Will the solid mass greatly increase the population of bacteria? I feel with larger scale models and more R&D in the side effects of this process, this will be the preferred method of cleanup for these issues.
@eyeque97 In calm seas, the gathered oil mass will stay afloat for a period of time and can feasibly be recovered. Any clay that absorbs the oil and sinks will be consumed by naturally occurring bacteria living on the sea bottom.
does the oil float back up that was not shown in the approach or else whats going to happen to the soaked up oil just leave it at the bottom of the gulf
Very interesting, I’ll spread this info to my local news outlets for you. Hopefully they’ll get the word out in time.
@LiarLiarStatsOnFire I am not suggesting this is the ONLY answer to the situation in the GoM. However, I believe the time has come for O&G operators, the EPA, and the USCG to consider alternatives to booms, skimmers, and dispersants. Technologies like the clay should have their place in a spill response Contingency Plan. BTW – I am not disputing your math, regarding the media requirements. I’m simply trying to raise public awareness of alternative recovery techniques.
Nice effort and perhaps a good solution in some cases, but the clay won’t work anytime soon on situtation like this due to logistics & ncssry infrastructure. Min. est. 790 000 000 mL Oil/ per day leak (158l/barrel * 5000 barrels *1000l/ml) — using your ratio of 6 grams clay to treat 3 mL equates to 1580 metric tons of clay/day to treat min leak. Not alot in scheme of things, but no instrct/tech to produce, contain/transport, and *Especially* disperse across 4000 grwing sq miles of slick
@Jobry456 The problem is getting the information on technologies like this in front of the right people. Trying to find the decision makers at BP, the EPA, the USCG, or other influential government agencies is very difficult. If you’d like to help, please forward a link to this video to your friends, family, elected officials, and local news outlets. Dissemination of the information is key. Thanks.
If this can work….then why isn’t it being done….at this point almost anything that can help should be tried.
you guys are genius because I had also thought of that this is the same way my dad picks up the oil only he dumps dirt on it. my idea was to pick the oil with a vacuum
start making a lot of that shit.
Better to be a mile deep than on the beach. That’s where it came from in the first place.
@klowety (uploader) I believe it could be easily implemented through the use of aircraft. The clay media could be broadcast over the spill in much the same way fire retardants are dropped on wildfires. Depending on how it’s applied, the media will bind the oil mass together and keep the bound oil mass afloat, or the oil mass can be sunk to the bottom, where naturally occurring microbes will digest the oil over time.
@windsorniceguy
Using the clay to sink the oil warrants legitimate, yet misguided concerns. Firstly, once absorbed, the clay will not release the oil back into the ocean waters. Secondly, over 90% of all marine life exists in the top 600 ft of the ocean depth. In the 5000 ft depths where the Horizon Rig sank, not much inhabits the ocean floor except anaerobic bacteria, which digest organic matter (like oil) over time.
boy thats impressive. out of sight out of mind eh ? send it all to the bottom of the sea. the oil is still going to damage the living things in the sea
That’s an interesting experiment. How practical would it be to apply it to a large scale spill?