Cleaning up the Oil...a stop gap measure to mop some of it up

[Mira]

http://www.wimp.com/solutionoil/

[NV Whino]

1. This is great!

Now we just have to get it to stop spewing from the wellhead.

[flamin lib]

2. Occam's razor. The simplest solution is the best solution.

Plus it would have the advantage of stimulating the farm economy for all farmers, large and small--they all have pasture land. It might cause a short term shortage in stock feed or an increase in hay prices, but still it's a good solution.

Heck, we could even harvest the grass on roadsides for hay. It's not that good for stock feed anyway.

[Mira]

3. I think it beats the human hair idea. Geez - it's all so sad. n/t

[spanone]

4. k&r

[SidDithers]

5. Cleaning up spilled oil is all about surface area...

Whether it's hair or hay fibres, they're effective because the oil coats the outside of the fibres. That's why people put kitty litter on oil spills in their garage, because the small granules give a large collective surface area. This is known as adsorbtion. Most of the sorbent boom used to protect coastlines are filled with shredded polypropylene. Again, lots of very small fibres provides a large collective surface area to adsorb oil. You'll also see long strings of what look like cheerleader pom-poms laying on beaches or floating in the water near sensitive areas.

The best oil adsorbent that I've ever come across is dried peat moss. When it's dried down to a moisture content of about 10-12%, the peat fibres coat themselves with a bitumen, that makes them highly oleophilic, and hydrophobic. The stuff can be deployed in a marine environment, where it will soak up oil but not water.

The only true oil absorbent on the market is a product called Imbiber beads. They're a polymer bead that actually encapsulates the oil into their structure.

Sid

[kentuck]

6. Big K & R !

This could be used to protect the beaches at the very least. Simple ideas from farmers. And it could be recycled into fuel.

[suzie]

7. The idea is already in place in one county on the Gulf Coast.

The website where this video demonstration illustrates part of a plan to protect the beaches and coastal lakes.

http://www.waltonso.org/

[goforit]

8. OMG!!! There is still sanity among the human race. This is a phenomenal break through!

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. Let's hope this idea gets used, and quickly.

Seems so much safer than those chemical dispersant agents they are spraying.

[AlinPA]

10. Do it.

[Control-Z]

11. This sounds so safe and sane.

Using natural plant life, there wouldn't be the massive clean up necessary after the clean up. No chemical pollutants left behind, or other man made absorbents. Anything not gathered up with oil attached would just be natural, biodegradable plant life.