This one just hit the local papers on June 9th. I thought it was very interesting
A San Clemente company says it can take surfboard scraps and soak up the oil spill that has affected the Gulf of Mexico from Louisiana to Florida.
After sucking out the oil, OILiNEX says it can mix the leftover byproduct with asphalt and use it to pave streets, adding another bullet point to the company's environmental to-do list.
When shaping a surfboard, polyurethane foam dust is left over. OILiNEX turns that dust into an oil-absorbent powder. The powder is stuffed in large oil-containment booms stationed around an affected area. The powder is then sprinkled on the surface and sucks up the oil, which can be collected using a large sieve, the company says.
Santley and his partners discovered the oil-absorbing properties of polyurethane dust about a year ago, but the massive Gulf of Mexico spill from an exploded British Petroleum oil rig has fired up efforts to get their product to market.
"As environmentalists, activists and surfers, it's difficult for us to sit on our hands," said Santley, who also started San Clemente's Green Foam Blanks, a company that uses recycled surfboards to make new ones.
OILiNEX has been in contact with the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, which must approve its oil-absorbent powder before it can be used in the gulf. The EPA has a list of items, called the National Contingency Plan Product Schedule, that can be used to mitigate spills. OILiNEX expects to hear back from the EPA in about a week.
Other products on the EPA list, such as hair, have already been put to use to mop up the oil spill. But Santley says OILiNEX's material is more efficient and doesn't absorb water, while other mitigating devices do.
"We pulled 600 grams of oil from ocean water in 30 seconds with 150 grams of our material," Santley said in describing sample tests.
The product also has been tested at two companies that create asphalt to see whether the polyurethane dust can be used to help make roads. Initial tests show that after sucking up oil, the dust enhances the properties of petroleum-based asphalt, Santley said.
Dan Fitzgerald, Santley's partner, is in Louisiana showing the product to government leaders there. Santley plans to join him this week.
OILiNEX also recently sent information about its product to BP, which gets about 5,000 calls a day from volunteers and others with oil-cleanup or spill-plugging ideas, so it's difficult to pinpoint where an idea is in the review process, said Ray Viator, a BP spokesman. Each idea gets "categorized and evaluated in terms of viability and feasibility," then BP contacts those who have an idea the company thinks might work, Viator said.
Even if BP accepts OILiNEX's proposal, the company would have to quickly produce thousands of pounds of the material to be effective. OILiNEX leaders have been looking at setting up a factory near Venice, La., but that would take funding they currently don't have.
However, OILiNEX doesn't plan to wait for BP's approval. If they get the EPA's blessing, Santley and his partners plan to present their product to the Coast Guard.
"The bottom line is, it's not their ocean, it's our ocean," Santley said. "We're going to take whatever steps necessary to get over the red tape."
Article was from the San Clemente Sun Post News and retrieved from http://www.ocregister.com/news/oil-252544-santley-oilinex.html