Clean Up Technologies
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Surface Dispersants
Reduce oil slicks to oil droplets
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Underwater Dispersants
Attach to oil before it reaches the surface
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Controlled Burns
Remove large portions of oil at surface level
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Booms and Skimmers
Filter oil and pollutants from the water
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Sorbent Materials
Absorb pollutants at and below the surface of the water
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Marsh Cleanup Techniques
A multi-pronged strategy for removing pollutants from marshland
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Manual/Mechanical Cleanup
Humans and machines working together to remove oil
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Natural Recovery
Nature mends its own wounds
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Water-Oil Separating Devices
Inventions designed specifically to combat oil spills
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Gelling Agents
Converts oil into a more easily seperated gel
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Biological Agents
Increase the rate at which oil naturally biodegrades
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Hay
Soaks up water while leaving clean water behind
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Oil Spill Hair Mats
Waste material used to create booms and soak up oil
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Oil Eating Mushrooms
Fungi that decompose oil
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Pine Shavings
A natrural material capable of soaking up oil
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Bees Wax
Contains compounds which speed up the decompositon of oil
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The Nuclear Option
A nuclear detonation to seal the source of the leak
This is a great source of information! Everyday we hear on the news what a hopeless situation this is, with no hint of a long term solution – only temporary methods of containment. I now see there is real hope for solving this problem through bioremediation, rather than the large use of chemicals, which have potential for residual consequences of their own. The creative engineering methods proposed here appear to be safe, common sense, solutions to the magnitude of pollution and environmental / economic disaster headed our way. Environmental Investigator for TCEQ – Petroleum Storage Tanks