ELASTOL POWDER is a non-toxic finely powdered high molecular weight PIB polymer that dissolves rapidly in petroleum products, (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, fuel oil, crude and etc. which I'll refer to as oil) making them viscoelastic.
The benefits of ELASTOL POWDER treated oil are the oil is cohesive improving oil/water separation. Treated oil resists water in oil emulsification and dispersion in the water. Cohesiveness improves containment and recovery. ELASTOL POWDER enhances sorbent performance by locking in collected oil. Treated oil restricts the toxic water soluble petroleum products called BETX ( e.g. Benzene, Ethylene, toluene, and Xylenes) from dissolving into water.
The best part is that the recovered treated oil can be reused as the original product. The polymer which is a hydrocarbon is shear sensitive and can be degraded by passing recovered oil through a shear pump. ELASTOL POWDER treated oil can also be deluted to the point that it is no longer viscoelastic.
Oil has a high affinity for ELASTOL POWDER and treated oil is difficult to disperse in water. This behavior is used to separate dispersed oil from water. The ELASTOL POWDER treated oil can also be used to remove BETX and MTBE dissolved in water. BETX is found in condensation at the bottom of large gasoline tanks and other water that has been in contact with light petroleum products for some time. MTBE is a fuel additive to add oxygen to the fuel. It has been found dissolved in ground water in California.
ELASTOL POWDER is effective at very low concentrations from 100 parts per million (PPM) to 1500 PPM (.01% to .15%). It is applied as a slurry, the water acting as a transport medium. ELASTOL POWDER floats on water, dissolving when it contacts oil. It remains effect for long periods but naturally degrades over longer periods.
ELASTOL POWDER treated oil increases performance of containment and recovery equipment. Containment booms used on ELASTOL POWDER treated oil have higher current and tow speed capability (proven in Canadian and Norwegian open sea tests). Mechanical skimming equipment is improved 2 to 10 times it's normal rate of recovery. Drum skimmers, which are designed to work with ELASTOL POWDER , recover little or no water with the oil.
ELASTOL POWDER applied early reduces emulsification and dispersion of oil spills. It also reduces penetration of oil into porous soils and sandy beaches.
ELASTOL POWDER is the most important new technology for control of oil pollution since the world community started to spill oil. It's own non-toxicity and it's reduction of the toxicity of spilt oil on water make it a containment and recovery tool that is unparalleled.
A half pound of ELASTOL POWDER treats: 100 gallons of gasoline, 200 gallons of diesel, 300 gallons of medium oil, and 500 gallons of heavy oil (liquid ELASTOL POWDER is suggested for medium to heavy oils and tank bottom water treatment)
But like all wonderful tools some training is required to use the ELASTOL POWDER effectively. Over treatment can be counter productive so careful application is required.
