Solid approach to oil pollution
8 Aug 2012
London - UK Power Networks, the UK’s largest public utility, is to trial a pollution prevention system based on a polymer that is said to quickly turn oil, diesel and other hydrocarbon waste into a non-leaching, rubber-like solid. The waste can then be readily collected and re-used in tarmac and other road building or burned for energy.
Developer CI Agent Solutions believes the system can eliminate the need for the massive and costly concrete bunds that are used by utilities, oil companies, port authorities, highway authorities and others to prevent pollution in and around sites.
The product, called CI Agent, is a dry granular material made up of seven separate polymers designed to solidify and immobilise hydrocarbons within minutes of contact.
“It’s a legal requirement that we have secondary containment to prevent oil getting into the ground. We’ll be monitoring this carefully and if it’s as good as we hope it is,” said Mark Dunk, UK Power Networks’ civil standards manager.
The installation which UK Power Networks is trialling costs roughly two-thirds the price of a concrete bund installation, taking up to 12 working days as opposed to eight working weeks.It is also claimed to be safer to install than concrete and require no ongoing maintenance of oily water separators.
CI Agent last year introduced its Green Rhino system, which filters off silt, sediment and hydrocarbons. This, it said, is being used by utilities and civil and highway construction teams in and around site works and water and drainage system.
CI Agent lists companies currently using its products as including: BP in the Gulf of Mexico, Western Power Distribution, Laing O’Rourke, Morrison Utility Services, May Gurney.
