HOW TO CLEAN UP AN OIL SPILL
THE MANUAL BP COULDN’T FIND
1. STEP ONE: Use an Oil Well Leak Solution
1. Go around and/or over the wellhead
2. One solution stabilizes pressure and ‘adheres’ to the ocean floor like a bandage over a wound while a chemical mixture is used to “clot” the oil
3. The other solution is a large ring that sinks to the ocean floor over the wellhead, is connected through strong oil resistant mesh walls to a second ring that floats at the surface – allowing the oil to be captured from this large “hose”
2. STEP TWO: Use Separation Machinery
1. Most tanker ships contain the machinery necessary to separate huge quantities of oil from water
2. Mounted on a skimmer vessel, the machine takes oil-laden water from the sea and spins it at high speed in a central cylindrical chamber. The resulting centrifugal force pulls the water to the outer edges of the chamber, leaving the oil in the middle. Once separated, that oil is then captured and stored in onboard holding tanks, while the water flows back into the ocean.
3. Separates water from oil at up to 3,000 gallons per minute; one of Kevin Costner’s V20 machines can clean up to 210,000 gallons of oily water per day; ability to extract all oil from gulf if used over the spill site
4. The water is then more than 99% clean of crude
3. STEP THREE: Use Oxidation Technology to cleanse the more dispersed oil
1. Employs a combination of ozone, ultrasound and high-voltage electricity to separate oil, gas and other contaminants from water through a process known as sonoluminescence
2. This process is basic chemistry and physics and can separate oil from water, then eradicate all remaining co-mingled contaminants from the water after it's separated
Leaves pure freshwater that can be bottled and oil that can be reused
3. One tractor-trailer sized unit can process more than a million gallons of contaminated water a day
4. STEP FOUR: Use nontoxic dispersants at the outer edge of the spill site to ensure any unmanaged oil is safely going into the water
1. Nontoxic, plant and water-based and biodegradable versions of Corexit are available
2. They create a colloidal micelle to break down hydrocarbon bonds in oil, dispersing the oil and making it water soluble
3. They are on EPA list, tested and approved, and have even been used by BP
5. STEP FIVE: Protect beaches, barrier islands and marshes with Solidifiers, Sorbents and Biomass
1. Powders solidify oil and tar but not water are numerous and approved by EPA
2. Sponges, fabrics, absorbent booms, and mats absorb oil, which can be wrung out (and captured) and then they can be re-used – some are even biodegradable
3. Biomass fibrous grasses (like Kenaf), hay or BioChar are incredibly absorbent, leaving water clean and clear and once oiled, can be burned for energy
6. STEP SIX: Bioremediate any affected areas
1. Speed up natural process of oil degradation by using naturally occurring microbes to break down hydrocarbon bonds in oil leaving carbon dioxide and water
2. Nontoxic, not chemical based, rapid oxidation and biodegradation
3. Can “eat” up to 100,000 ppm (10% oil in water) in as little as 24 hours
4. Work on marshes, beaches, open water and protects marine and plant life
5. Numerous, world-wide tested and EPA approved but you do not get to recollect oil
A document of the Oil Spill Prevention Alliance
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