Posted by Bill Litwin on Tue, Nov 17, 2009 @ 09:19 AM
Many marketers of absorbent products will make exaggerated claims about the effectiveness of their product over others. The problem is that they rarely if ever provide substantive evidence to support their claims. Many will give you a capacity figure: "our product will absorb 32 gallons of oil" without giving you the numbers of how they did the math. Many will also claim their product "solidifies" oils and other hydrocarbons, but that generally means the oil is absorbed into a porous structure of some form of polypropylene product or natural fiber or cellulose. Polypro is the most prevalent sorbent used today, but not necessarily the most effective. It's low cost is deceiving however. It does not take into account the amount of oil or other pollutants left behind or that leak out of the absorbent when it is saturated. This means more time or man hours spent to complet the job. Others claim that their "natural fiber" absorbs better and faster than any other method, but don't tell you that the liquid pollutant is absorbed into the cell structure of the plant it came from, and is not truly "locked". This means that if you apply pressure to the absorbent after is is "saturated", the liquid it absorbed will be released. It is physically impossible to claim this is "solidification" because the cells will rupture under pressure releasing the liquid. The principle is similar to what happens to a sponge and water. Squeeze it and you get water!
Then there are the mineral based absorbents that range from a cat litter type of product used in almost every garage or machine shop around the world to very specialized products that are narrowly designed to be effective for certain pollutants and very cheap. However the problem remains that they can release liquid once absorbed because the liquid resides in tiny capillaries or spaces in the mineral and is really adsorption rather than absorption. When these sorbents are then dumped into landfills with regular trash, they present a hazard to the environment due to leaching.
The true solidification process can only happen when using a polymeric solidier. Again, certain claims are made here that require a degree of skepticism. The maximum absorption capacity of these types of products will never be more than 4 times the weight of the polymer. Any claims beyond that are probably exaggerated.
True solidification using polymeric absorbents is a process that not only absorbs large quantities of liquid hydrocarbon by weight, but also traps and locks the liquid into it's own structure forming a solid, making the release of liquids during handling and transportation impossible. This advantage allows for safer handling especially for hazardous chemicals. In addition, this process will drastically reduce or eliminate formation of vapor that creates explosive or reactive hazards to the operator. The economic advantages to this type of product (true solidification) cuts operational man hours, reduces the personal risks in responding to chemical spills and makes disposal easier. Please contact us for more information on our Advanced Absorption Technology.