United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Municipal Environmental Research .'.!
Laboratory
Cincinnati OH 45268
Research and Development
EPA-600/S2-82-030 July 1982
Project Summary
Sorbent Materials for
Cleanup of Hazardous Spills
E. C. Herrick, D. Carstea, and G. Goldgraben
This report reviews the state-of-the
art of using sorbent materials for clean-
up of hazardous liquid spills. The per-
tinent characteristics of 90 hazardous
liquids and 28 sorbent materials are
reported, and a matrix is provided to
indicate the tested and anticipated
compatibilities between the liquids
and sorbents. Some conclusions are
drawn about the types of sorbents and
their suitability for use with hazardous
liquids. A comprehensive testing pro-
gram is recommended.
This Project Summary was devel-
oped by EPA's Municipal Environ-
mental Research Laboratory.
Cincinnati. OH. to announce key find-
ings of the research project that is fully
documented in a separate report of the
same title (see Project Report ordering
information at back).
Introduction
Spills of hazardous liquid substances
represent a severe threat to environ-
mental quality. Cleaning up a spill large-
ly depends on various uncontrollable
conditions such as the weather, spill-
site accessibility, and availability of suit-
able equipment, materials, and
personnel.
The purpose of this report is to sum-
marize this cleanup information for EPA
and to provide recommendations con-
cerning the use of sorbent materials for
containing and cleaning up hazardous
liquid spills. The full report also provides
guidance to response teams varying
from a small, inexperienced cleanup
crew with limited resources to a large,
experienced, combined Coast Guard/
EPA task force with substantial
resources.
A four-step approach was used. The
first two steps involved identifying and
characterizing hazardous liquid sub-
stances, selected from the EPA list of
hazardous substances, and 28 commer-
cially available sorbents.* Information for
each chemical included the Chemical
Abstracts Service (CAS) number, the
solubility in water, viscosity, and melt-
ing and boiling points, and flash point,
among others the third step was to
determine sorbent-liquid compatibility
from tested and tried combinations, pre-
dicted behavior based on functional
groups, and claims from manufacturers.
A compatibility matrix was compiled
from this information indicating the
safety of the different sorbents for each
hazardous liquid. The final step was to
identify data gaps and research needs.
Results
In studying the various sorbent mate-
rials and their compatability with
hazardous liquids, the following infor-
mation was found regarding the charac-
teristics of sorbents and criteria for their
selection.
Sorbent materials can be divided into
three general classifications: natural
organic (e.g., straw, feathers), natural
inorganic (e.g., clays, calcium carbo-
nate), and synthetic (e.g., polyurethane).
Each of these categories differs from the
other two in terms of material, origin,
cost, and effectiveness. The natural
organic and inorganic sorbents are gen-
erally more readily available and less
expensive than the synthetic sorbents.
Although more expensive, the synthet-
*Mention of trade names or commercial products
does not constitute endorsement or recommenda-
tion for' use
-------
ics tend to exhibit higher sorption
capacity than their natural counter-
parts. Both natural and synthetic sor-
bents can be treated to improve their
versatility and sorption capacity.
The categories for which criteria are
established to select sorbents for clean-
up of hazardous chemical spills are
safety; sorption capacity; cost; availabil-
ity; and ease of application, collection,
and disposal. The safety category refers
to avoidance of sorbent-liquid combina-
tions that may result in explosion, fire,
or generation of toxic fumes. Sorbents
are generally inert materials; thus, most
combinations of hazardous liquids and
sorbent materials appear to be safe.
Sorption capacity, for which relatively
few data are available, is the weight of
liquid sorbed per unit weight of sorbent.
The interaction of two or more
hazardous substances may occur either
in the same spill or as a result of the
disposal at a single site of sorbents from
different spills. Since these combina-
tions may also be hazardous, unsafe
combinations of hazardous liquids are
identified. A small portion of the com-
patibility matrix of the hazardous liquids
and selected sorbent materials is shown
in Table 1. Useful liquid-sorbent combi-
nations are indicated by a check (\/),
and unsafe combinations are indicated
by a cross (X).
Data gaps have made it difficult to
determine the compatibility between
hazardous liquids and sorbent mate-
rials. In addition, available data are not
generally substantiated by laboratory
test results, are extrapolated from oil
spill cleanup operations, or are pre-
dicted from physical and chemical char-
acteristics of the liquids and sorbents.
Conclusions
Despite the limitations of available
data, the following conclusions were
drawn regarding sorbent materials and
their application to hazardous liquid
spill cleanup:
Table 1. Compatibility of Hazardous Liquids and Selected Sorbent Materials
8
1
°
0
|K
S§
V
v/
v
s/
x/
v'
-J
-J
v7
v/
X
v'p
u,
Sgg^ 2QL PERLITEAND
5^§ 5>: 5fc« CELLULOSE. TREATED
jjbS ^£ ^S^ FIBERPERL'
?OO §0 ?SJ SORBENTC'
v'
- v' '3
- v/
- \/
- -J
V
v7 • 10
v' '3
V7 1^
- V' "
v7 '0
- v7 -
POLYPROPYLENE
3M OIL OIL SNARE
SORBENT' QUICK-WICK
-J
v/
-
\/
v7
v/
V ^
-
V
v'
S 8 P
< sft'S £u
S 5^^ |2
itg POLYURETHANES ^^ ^g
£8 ssc 111 S3
OS GRABOIL" P£TRO-TRAP' ABSORBENT "OGi 5»
\/
v
v/
-
\/
\J
v/
-
-
\/ - - \J - v'
V - - N/
\/ V
.
\/
v/
EPOXIDES Propylene oxide
ESTERS Amyl acetate
Butyl acetate
n-Butyl phthalate
Methyl methacrylate
Pyrethnna
Vinyl acetate
9
11
11
8
v7
a Wool, feathers, leather shavings.
b Bark, hulls, peat moss, sawdust, straw.
0 Proprietary product of Conwed Corporation. Information is abstracted from company's advertising materials.
d Ash. clays, perlite, sand, vermiculite.
8 Proprietary product of Diamond Shamrock Corporation.
' Proprietary product of Grefco, Inc.
8 Proprietary product of Clean Water. Inc.
h Proprietary product of 3M Company. Information is abstracted from company's advertising materials.
' Proprietary product of Parker Systems, Inc.
' Proprietary product of Clark-Cutlet'-McDermott Company.
k Proprietary product of RBH Cybernetics, Ltd.
' Proprietary product of Best Textile Company.
m Proprietary product of Sorbent Sciences Corporation.
" Proprietary product of Dow Chemical Company.
° "-" Indicates data were not available and
"\J" represents compatible combinations as found in the literature referenced.
p Conclusion based on experimental data.
q Numbers represent absorption capacity (mass of material sorbed per unit mass of sorbent), based on experimental data.
' "x" Represents incompatible combinations.
-------
Sorbents can be used to clean up
spills on land and on the water sur-
face (if the sorbents float and are
hydrophobic).
Categories for which criteria are
established for selecting a sorbent
include safety, sorption capacity,
ease of application, collection, and
disposal, as well as cost and avail-
ability. The latter two vary with
time and location.
Quick selection and application of
the appropriate sorbent material
are essential to minimize the envir-
onmental risk of a hazardous liquid
spill.
The natural sorbents are generally
more readily available than the syn-
thetics, although availability varies
with time and location.
Synthetic sorbents are more costly
than their natural counterparts, but
they are more versatile and tend to
exhibit higher sorption capacity.
Special surface treatment of both
natural and synthetic sorbents can
improve their versatility and sorp-
tion capacity.
The recommendations to spill re-
sponse teams involve selecting sor-
bents on the basis of (1} requirements
for responding to hazardous liquid
spills, and (2) factors related to their re-
moval and disposal. Factors to be con-
sidered in responding to a liquid spill in-
clude safety, sorption capacity, reten-
tion capacity, and relative affinity for
water. Considerations related to the re-
moval and disposal of sorbents include
the ease of collecting the material, the
thoroughness of the clean-up, the
means of removal, the ease of transport
to the disposal site, and the require-
ments for safe disposal of the material.
The full report was submitted in fulfill-
ment of Contract No. 68-01-5051 by
the MITRE Corporation, under the spon-
sorship of the U.S. Environmental Pro-
tection Agency.
Recommendations
The recommendations resulting from
this study are directed to EPA and to
those responsible for cleanup of hazard-
ous spills.
The recommendations to EPA involve
establishing a comprehensive program
to determine which sorbents are suit-
able for containing and cleaning up liquid
spills on land and water. To determine
the effectiveness and suitability of using
each of 28 sorbents with each of 90
hazardous liquids, the following guide-
lines were formulated:
• Substances from each category of
sorbents and hazardous liquids
should be tested and the results
extrapolated to other substances
within the category.
• The priority for test combinations of
sorbents with hazardous liquids
should range from widely available
and low-cost natural sorbents to
less common, more costly ones.
• Sorbent use on land spills should be
evaluated before spills on water,
since the former are more likely to
occur.
The results of this program should
serve as a user's guide to the selection,
procurement, application, removal, and
disposal of sorbent materials to contain,
remove, and dispose of hazardous liquid
spills.
-------
E. C. Herrick, D. Carstea, and G. Goldgraben are with the MITRE Corporation,
McLean, VA 22102.
John Brugger is the EPA Project Officer (see below).
The complete report, entitled "Sorbent Materials for Cleanup of Hazardous
Spills," (Order No. PB 82-227 125; Cost: $16.50, subject to change) will be
available only from:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA22161
Telephone: 703-487-4650
The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
Oil and Hazardous Materials Spills Branch
Municipal Environmental Research Laboratory—Cincinnati
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Edison, NJ 08837
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Center for Environmental Research
Information
Cincinnati OH 45268
Postage and
Fees Paid
Environmental
Protection
Agency
EPA 335
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED
Third-Class
Bulk Rate
MERL0063240
LOU W TILLEY
REGION V EPA
LIBRARIAN
230 S DEARBORN ST
CHICAGO IL 60604
------- |