Organic Peat Moss to Clean an Oil Spill

How it Works

• Oil spill cleanup crews utilize organic peat moss by spreading the moss directly onto oil that is floating on the surface of the effected water. Due to the natural, porous properties of the peat moss, the moss will absorb the oil on contact. However, the moss will not absorb the surrounding water. Once oil penetrates the peat moss, the oil becomes encapsulated and cannot escape. Cleanup crews can then scoop up the peat moss from the water, taking the oil with it.

Benefits

• One of the main advantages of using organic peat moss for cleaning oil spills in comparison to other techniques is that prevailing sea conditions and the presence of debris do not limit the peat moss’s effectiveness. For example, waves and choppiness will not prevent the peat moss from absorbing oil, while the moss can easily move around debris to make contact with oil. In contrast, the common oil spill-cleaning technique of using booms and skimmers is less effective when seas are rough as well as when debris is present. A further benefit of organic peat moss is its efficiency. As a natural organic sorbent, peat moss can absorb between 3 and 15 times its own weight in oil.

Disadvantages

• The primary disadvantage of using organic peat moss for cleaning oil spills is that there is no easy method for disposing of the peat moss after it absorbs the oil and crews remove it from the water. Once collected, oil-soaked organic peat moss is still highly toxic and difficult to manage. Burning the moss releases pollution into the air, making it an unattractive option for disposal.

History

• A small Norwegian company, Kallak Torvstrøfabrikk, and its three staff members were the first to propose using organic peat moss as a means for cleaning oil spills. After observing how absorbent their horticultural peat moss was, the staff members began seeking out other uses and developed a moss that would be effective at absorbing oil. In 2009, when a freighter running aground led to oil contamination along Norway’s southeastern coastline, the Norwegian government put Kallak Torvstrøfabrikk’s oil-absorbing organic peat moss to use for the first time.

Varieties

• Crews can use two primary varieties of organic peat moss products for cleaning oil spills. The first is loose, fibrous peat moss, which comes in containers. Crews can spread the loose moss onto the oil like you would spread mulch onto a garden. The second variety is a condensed or packaged peat moss, which comes in sausage-like shapes that are approximately 10 feet long each.