Commercial production of the oil absorbent Sea Sweep

A new absorbent has been developed for oil spills. It attracts oil and chemicals and floats on water indefinitely. It is mpm-leaching and can save land and beaches from environmental disasters and can be disposed of in an environmentally acceptable manner or recycled. The new absorbent is called {open_quotes}Sea Sweep{close_quotes}; extensive research has been done on it under an EPA Small Business Innovation Research grant, Phase I and Phase II. Sea Sweep has been tested for toxicity to the environment. Less than 2 mg/l total organic carbon was found in water in contact with oil saturated Sea Sweep after 30 minutes. No toxicity was measured to any of the marine or freshwater tested species at any test concentrations. Sea Sweep is made from {open_quotes}pin chips,{close_quotes} a waste wood product, using a patented thermolytic process in which the wood is heated to about 300{degrees}C. It is a coarse, free-flowing granular material absorbing from 2.6 to 6.6 g/g of oils and chemicals. While originally designed for marine oil spills, it is also very effective for oil and chemical spills on land or water. Sea Sweep has now reached the stage of limited commercialization. A small (5 tons/day) plant has been built inmore » northern Colorado at a wood recycling plant and it has been operated since January 1993. The plant features an afterburner that destroys the blue haze resulting from pyrolysis of the sawdust so that production is environmentally acceptable. Sea Sweep is marketed in 5, 10 and 25 lb plastic bags and 500 lb drop bags. It is also sold in socks, booms pillows and bilge rats. The company will recycle non-toxic materials for the customer using methods developed under the SBIR grant. Sea Sweep has been features in a number of articles, on television, and in national and international trade shows. The international marketing of Sea Sweep is administered from the corporate offices in Denver. Domestic marketing is administered from the regional office in Chicago.« less