CA2081958A1

CA2081958A1 - Procedure for environmentally benign removal of oil substances similar to oil from the surface of water or the ground and an oil absorber suitable for this procedure

Info

Publication number: CA2081958A1
Application number: CA002081958A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Helmut Schiwek
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1991-12-06
Filing date: 1992-11-02
Publication date: 1993-06-07
Also published as: DE59205013D1; NO924214L; MX9206316A; EP0545050B2; JPH05247918A; ATE132891T1; TR26227A; DK0545050T3; NO300426B1; RU2069640C1; NO924214D0; EP0545050A2; ES2085529T3; PL167615B1; FI924959A0; DK0545050T4; SI9200295A; PL296453A1; FI924959A; EP0545050B1

Abstract

Abstract procedure in which glass wool that ha been blown in the high temperature. range is rendered water repellant with silicon and a starch that serves as bonding agent, and simultaneously bound, is used to deal with so-called oil accidents and for the rapid pickup of oil or oil like substances that have escaped. The appropriately treated glass wool is them assembled to form a mat-like lattice structure that can be cut, and this is then most expediently dried at 150°C. The then cohesive three dimensional lattice mat is applied to the areas of water that have been affected, as is left there until it is saturated, when it is stored, together with the oil that it has picked up, and then disposed of mechanically or thermally, or reprocessed. A
corresponding adsorber consists of fine-fibre glass wool that is so prepared by being encased with silicon and starch, and then configured, that adsorption of the oil from the surface of the water or from the ground is made possible.

Figure 1 is provided for publication.

Description

FR0~1: Wot-~srnl t~ T--~nslat ~o~ . PHO~E ~CI, : Fu 2~ 'Lf~58 27026-a8 A P~O~EDURT:~ FOR ENVIRONME~ LLY BENIGN REMOVAL OF OIL
A~D SUBSTAt~CE~ SIMILl~R 'ro OIL FROM q~HE SURFACE OF WATER OR TH~
GROUND AND AN OI~ ADSORE~ER SUI~ABLE E'OR ''I!HIS PROC13~)U~E

.

.

FF'UM: ~k,~-d~mlt~-, T~cln~13t~.,r, l~c. PHONE ~10.: F'U--, 2 ~ ~ L. 3 '5 ~3 The pre~ent invention relate6 to a procedure that avoids or eliminates contaminatlon of water and the ground by oil or ~ub~tan~ces that are simllar to oil by the application Of inorganic f~bres that have been render~d water-repQll~nt to the endang~red area, by the ad60rption of the oll that po~es the danger on the fibxes, ~nd di~po~al of this by separation o~ the ~ibre~ ~nd the oil. The pre~ent invention also relate~ to an oil ad~orber to ~bsorb the oil or the substance~ slmilar to ~il from th~ nurfaao of the water or the ~round, thi6 con~i6tlng of inorgania fibrcs that have been furni~he~ with ~ilicon a~ a water-repelling agent.

The threat being posed to the ~nvironment by es~aping oil i~
b~oming gre~ter a~ the 6ize of oil transporters al60 ~ecomes greater. ~cng ~tretche~ o~ coastline have been seriou~ly cont~min~ted as a reeult of o~l di~asters ln recent year~, and llfe ln the sca bcneath the endan~erQd area6 a~ ~een totally dcs~royed. For thi6 rea~on, thore ha6 been no lack of efforts th~ aro a~med at pump th~ oil that ha6 escaped fro~ the aUr~ace o~ the water or the ground, or el~e to neutrali~e such oil in that variou~ ~bst~ncc5 have bee~ ~prayed onto th~ oll or the oil-like substance~. F~-PS 2 64~ 189 describes a method~ wheraby water-repellant mineral fibres are blown onto the ~urface of the wat~r, where Quch fibre6 are 1ntended to absorb the oil or the suboance~ 6imilar to oil ~o that the resulting mixture can then bc lirted and di6po6ed off. Tha flbres, wh~ch are meant to be ~ade eo as to be rel~tively 6hort, are rendered water-repQllant with a ~ilicon oil. The ~uantity that i6 added i~ approximately 0. 5 - 3 per cent. A di6ad~antaqe in thi~ know proaedure i~ the ~ct th~ thc rol~tively 6hort mtnexal fibre~ tend to slnk if they c~nnot be combined wlth the oil ~u~cXly enough. Thl~ mean~
that ~om~ o the mineral fibre material that is blown onto the watcr i8 108t before ~t can become effective. Contamination or ~oiling of thc s~ bottom or ehe ground ~s thus considerahle.

F~ 1ord5ml ti. Tra~-~C.~t lon Inc. PHQ~`IE NO. : FO-I

r~q F~-PS 2 401 214 al~o de~cribes the adsorption of oi~ by ~lnQral ~ibre~, when the~e mineral ~ibres a~e f irst lmpregnated with a bon~in~ ~g~nt. This procedur~ al~o entails disadvanta~e~ that ar~ co~parabl~ to tho~e d~sc~ibed in connect~on with FR-PS 2 646 189.

GB-PS 1 235 4~3 d~scribes a procedure in which the oil that lies on the ~urface of the wat~r is m~ant to ~ ad~orbed ~y ~an~ of lnorganic fibres that havo proviously been provided w~th a water-repellant material. The fibres float on the water and p~ck up th~ oil, W~iCh i~ th~r~ removed Py burnlng the f~bre~. Qu~te ~part Yrom t~e fact that simply burning the oil t~at has been picked Up by the fibres i3 unAccep~able from the point of view of the national oconom~, the burning of the oil alone leads to con~iderable environmental contamination. In addition, it has been shown tl~ht the ~bsorption capability of inor~anic fibres t~at are simply blown or ~cattered onto the sur~ace o~ the water i~ ln~ufflcient to adsorb the required quantitles of oil qulckly And ~a~oly from tho water, ~nd then retain ~t. In additlon, the r~covery of the fibre~ that are ~oatsd with oil is costly and, here, too, the previously dascribed ef~ect wlll also occur, l.e., so~e o~ the fibre0 will sink in th~ wator o~ w~ll prove to b~
non-recoverable for other reason~.

~t i9 the tasX o~ the present invention to de~cribe a procedur~
~or d~nling w~th tanker accidcnt~ and other ~milar problems ~oth q~lcXly and reliably, and al30 to de60ribe an oil ad~orber, by ~eans of whiah dipo~al of the Qil or oil-llke 6ubstance that ha~
osoapod i~ made po6~ible in an environmentally heniqn m~nn~r.

~hi~ problem has been .olved by the present invention in that glas~ wool that h~s hoon blown in the hi~h-temperature range ;~
rcnder~d wat~r-repellant with sili~on ~nd a starch ~poly~accharide~ that serve a~ a binding agent, and simult~n~ously bound thcroby, and in that t~e appr~priAtely FPL~ JQt-d~:ml tl`, Tt-dnSI~Itl~ Inc. F'HO~IE N~). : P~l5 ?. ~ ~ ~
trsateld glas3 wool i~ a~sembled to form a mat-like lattice 6tructure that can be cut, either prior to or durinq drylng at 150-C, ~nd i3 then applied to the contaminated ~urface of the wate~ or the ground as a continuous structure and left in place until it i~ totally saturated, whereupon the ~aturated glas6 wool iS picked up and stored OEO ~hat it can ultimately be tr~at~d by mechaniçal or thermal separation.

U3~nq n procedure o~ this kind~ it i~ possible, even ~n the oa~e of ma~or t~nker accidents or other ~nvironmental damags, to apply a gla~ wool mat that is suitable for adsorption, or an Appropriate numbcr of such mat~, very qulckly in order to plc~ up the o~l or oil-like su~tance that ha~ Qscaped~ to b~nd it, And then remo~e ~t. Because of the combined "coatlng" of the individu~l gla~ wool fibre~ it is en~ured that tho individual fibr~ not only lie loo~ely one upon the ot~er~ ~ut al~o are ln ~he adv~ntageou~ lattice-like BtruCtUre that can adsorb large quantitie~ of oil or other harmful 6ub~tance~. In add~tlon, thls meæ~ OEtructure make6 it po~blo to bind the substanoe that has bQen picked up effecti~ély, such th~t the mats can be recovered and stored until 6uch time a~ it is possible to start wlth ~lnal procescing. This final proce6~ing can be effected mechanically and~or thermally, depending on whether it i~ intended to U~e the ~ppropri~to gla~ wool lattice matL once agaln, or not. ~a~ing~
the ~la~ wool togethor at approximately 150-C not only aoaol~rat¢q the drying effect, but al~o lead~ to a spe~if~c re~ction in th~ silicon/starch mixture and th~ individual fibres.
~he atarch permit6 a 6peci~ic bonding or adhe6ion o~ the indi~idual fibres with ~a~h other 60 that the lattico ~tru~ture ~hat ha~ becn doscribed i6 formed and then imparts the requlred stabllity to the mat and, on the other hand, makes ~t po6sible for it to pick Up the oil or oil~ e substAnce.. The corre~ponding mat is a three-dimen~ional lattioe ctructure that provide~ ~or a 6pecific capillary ef~ect and ensures the Ad~orpt~ on of the oil.

FROM: lAJor~ml tt~ Tr~r~ t lon In~. PH~V`IE NO. : PU~, 2~~

A p~rtieularly ~dvantageou~ three-dimen~ional l~ttice ~tructure is achi~ved in th~t the wool ha6 7 to 10 per cent ~ilicon and starc~ ~dded to it 90 that the individual glass fibres have the re~uirod ~tability imparted to ~h~m, or else retain such 6tnbillty, and are of a ~uitable length so that the ~avourable lattice 6tructure is ensured.

An ~de~uate adhesive offect iB impartcd to the mlxture of ~ eon and ~tarch when 6 to 4 per cont starch i~ mlxed into 94 to g6 per ccnt ailicon, and thiQ is then applied to the ~la~a waol to~ether. When thi6 i6 done, it has been shown that ~ecau~e o~
tho 6ub~equent drying proce~s there $s a h~rdenin~ effect that lmparts a large eurface to ~he lattice Btructure 80 that an appro~riate quantity of oil can be ad~orbed.

~n order to ensure the mo~t even coating of the ~ndlvidual gla~
fibres that is po3~ible, the lnvention provide~ for the fact that pxior to or during the assembly of the fibre~, ~ilicon and ~tarch are sprayed onto the fibres or the fibre strands. Thia mean~
th~t, for all practical purpose~, each ~ndividual ~ibre i~
reached, ~o that thoy can be pa~ed on for further proceaslng, having ~een ~pproprlately pre-treated. Over and above thi~, it ~s al~o an advantage that the fibre~ are ~o ~prayed that, for all practical p~rpo~e6, no droplets can form ~o that, once again, an even coatlng of tho individual fibres and appropriato a~embly Ar~ mad~ possible. ~escribed above iq thc fa~t that it i~
in~ended to a~6emble a mat-li~e la~tic~ structure tha~ ~an be cut~ and thi~ i~ thon optimally suitable ~or adsorbing oil. In ordor to provide the largee number of ~urface~, and, ln a aerta~
way, to provid~ a ma~or ~pace around the individual fibre~, the prese~t prov~de~ for the faat that the fibres that have been sprayed ~re l~id onc upon the other ~nd thereby co~paated, and then baked together ~t approximately 150'C. ~his re~lt~ in a loo~e ~tructure that ~an b~ easily c~t and i~ of an advantageous lattice-like structure.

FF~OI;l: lJ-It~ .nl l t ~ , Tt- ~rl ~, l c~ t l ~n I rl~ . PHQI ~E ~ IO. F~

2~

I~ a greater gross don~ity i6 desired, i~ is al~o pos~ible to comblne the fibro~ by po6itive, once-through guidan~e., a~tRr they have been sprayed with ~ilicon and starch, ~nd then bake them toqether, when this po~itive ~uidance will be sufficien~ to en~ure ~1 ight compac~lon .

A large ~urfa¢e, on the one hand, and yet a high level of ~tablllty on the other, is onsured in a lattice ctructure o~ this kind i~ no~t gla66 wall having a fibre diameter of 5 to 7 ~m iR
u~ed as the gla~ wool. Thie fine gla~s wool can be 6tAbil 1 ~ed uslng the preparation method described above, ~o that the required fibrc lcngth~ can be aahieved and retained, which mean~
that, neen a~ a wh~le, the lattica ~tructure that is even and ~uitabl~ for ad~orbing large quantitie~ o~ oil can be obtaine~.
~t 18 surpri6ing that latt~ce ~tructure~ form~d in thi~ way have an aaaorption capaci~y of 1 : 30. One litro o~ ~oft gla~ wool, weighing approximately 30 g, will pick up 900 g of o~l. The gl~s~ woDl lattic~ mats that are saturated with oil can be di-po~od o~ by var~ou~ ways and mean~. When thi~ i6 done, it is po~3ible that gl3~-5 wool lattioe mat~ that are largely saturated with oil or oil-lik~ 6ub6tan¢e~ ¢an b~ freed of oil by pyroly8i8 or by direct roaeting at approximately 850~C. ~h~n thi6 i~ done, th~ gla~s form~ a ~m~lt and can be u~ed to advantage f or road and 6treet con~truction, when it will ~e completRly free of any oil re~idues .

A further po~6ibility i~ tho fact that gla~ wool latt~ce matr that ar~ largely Paturated with oil or oil-like su~stances can be frccd of oil by aentrifuging or by oompr~clon. ~hi~ mot~od of dl~posal entail~ the advantago that the gla~s wool lattice mats are, ln principlo, rctained, and can be reusad. When thi~ i8 done~ it doe6 not poce any particular ha~ard 1~ one hundred percent of the oil, but only 99 per cent of it, has be~n ~emoved ~rom t~e glaes wool lattice mat~. A further advantage is the ~act that the oil i5 then in a ~orm that can be proce~qed, ,~

.
:

Fl~O~ IJc"~ rnl o, Tr~r~ t l~r-l Ir,~. FHO~E 1~0. : Fl~
2~$ ~. ~5~

ulthough tho oondition it was in when it esoaped into the environment thcn become6 important. lf it is centri~uqed, it c~n then be advantage to ~o adju~t ~he centrifu~al for~e that the s~r~ngth of the gla~s wool lattice mats can be taken lnto cQnsideration~ ~o that ultimately they are, in effect, one hundred per cent reusa~le.

~n the ~se o~ oil burn~ng plants that have ~iring sy~tem~ the frequcntly have to be as~i~ted by the use of addltlonal ~uel~, it in an advantage 1~ the gla~s wool lattice mat~ can be ~ent to ~arbage incinerator6, where they are completely disposed o~. In su~ ~a~e~, the oil i~ burned and the 6011d residues are mixed with the a3h, togothcr with the solid re~idues from the gla~s wool lAttice mats, whereas th~ rcmaining re6idual 6ub~tance~ are carr~ed off with the fluc gasee and can be disposed of to~ether with these.

The spread of an oil ~lick i~ advantageously hindered by the ~act that the ~lass wool lattice mats are inserted into a perforated tube and laid w~ th the~e on the water surface ~n the form of a varlable barrier. The oil can get to the gla~ wool lattice mat~
through the ~crforation3, ao that the mat6 oan thu~ be ~illed with oil. The tube it~elf can be produced from a material that poses no environmentai ha2ard and which i~ not aff~cted by any sort of in~urioue ~ub~tances. Th~ glas~ wool lattice mat~
~radu~lly become i~p~og~ated so that the tube, ~ogether wlth the gla~ wool lattice mat~, will Llnk ~omew~at, so that new area~ of ~he mat aome in~o contact With the oil and absorb thl~ a~ well.
~h~ oll ~ts~lf provides a certain amount o~ natural buoy~ncy, 80 ~h~t the tube a~ a whole wlll not ~ink. If the oil is then ollminated by the application of additional gla~ wool lattice matB to the ~urace of the water then the tube or the tube barrler, reepeotively, can once again be xemoved and di~po~e~ o~.
Here, too, it i~ po~cible to d~ive ~o much oil out by ~ompres~on or oentrifuging that th~ barrier oan be then be reu~ed. The . ~ ' ~ .
.

FPUIl : ~J~,rd~r,ll tr, Tran~l~tlorl 1,-,~. PHCIl~E NCI : F

enormoT~s adsorption capacity oE s~ch barrierc, or of the mat element~ that ~rc applied, ~nsurQs the immediate breakup of the oil alic~, w~th the result that at lea~t of the oxygen that i8 requlred can be provided. Any patcho~ of the oil that remaln w~ owever, mcan that l~fe will continue beneath the ~ur~ac~
of the water, with thc re~ult that because of thl~ alone there wlll bc prompt protection of the environment. ~t is also poa~ible to p~ovide oil ad60rbers of this klnd as fixed 5y5tem8 around drilling rigs so that any oil ~liaks tha~ may be c~us~d ~re lmm~diatoly trapped without the danger they will e~cape ncros-~ tho aurface of the water. The use of glass wool lattice m~t~ of this kind, in perforated tu~es, i~ al~o advantageou~
~ecauso the prompt adsorption of the oil reduce6 or eliminate~
the risk of explosions.

Vp to now, the prior art ha6 contained no oil adsorbQr~ as de~arl~ed by the pre6ent invention. ~c~ording to the document~
tha~ for~ the prior art, ~uch a~ FR-PS 2 646 18~, in each instanc~, inorganic fibres that have been rendered water-repellant, ar~ simply scattered onto the water wlthout beinq g~ven a stablc ~ructure or lattice 11ke ctructure that only then ¢an bc designatod aq an oil ad~orber. In order to prov~de ~or an oil ad~or~er of thi6 kind, which can be used in the procedure ~ccording to the present invention, the present invention provide~ for the fact that the gla~s fibrec that are produced in t~e high tcmperature range are coated with a mlxture o~ s~licon ~nd ntarch (poly~accharide~): and in that the fibres are combined to form mat-like gla~ wool ~trands that can be c~t, thas~ then bcing hardened and 6ub6equently cut te length.
Thi~ oxeateo t~ree dimen~ional oil ad~orbHrs which, depending on their dimen~ions ~u~h a thickne~s, len~th, and depth, c~n pick up practically any quantitia~ of oil. When thi~ i~ done, the oll that is tran~ported into the latti~o-like structure by the capillary ~ffcct can be ~o 6tored that ~t doe~ not escape ~nce again when subjected to thQ mallest load~, ~uch a~ tho~e that F~ Jord~m~ t~ Tr~r, .l~tlol-, Ir,~ FHI~OIE llû. : P1U

o~cur wh~n the m~t is lifted from the water. Naturally, the way in whic,h the oil is bound in will depRnd on the viscos~ty of th~
oil, although it mu~t be said that oil6 as such can always he plcked up effectively, ~hereas gasoline, amongst other substances, can only be bound up in part, to the extent that the mat~ c~n then be move aga~n and ~tored, as well a~ sub~ect to final proce~sing. It i5 also ~mportant that the oi 1 can be plcked up, to the extent that it can accumulate on the individual glas~ fibres~ wlth their greater surfaces. Th~ en6ured by the lattice-like structure that i~ provided ~or by the pre~ent lnvention. The oil ad~orbers a~cordinq to the pre~ent lnvcntion are partlcularly well suit~d for use in the form of barriers 1~
the gl~s wool lattice mat~ are surrounded by a perforated tube.
A~ a rule, whcn this i5 done, the~e gla~s wool lattice mat~ are in~erted into the tube. It i~ al6~ pocsible to wrap the tub~
~round the individual glass wool lattice mat~ ~n the form of an appropri~te foil that ha~ been ~u~table perforated, and then weld it together to form a ~ube, 80 that manual labour can to a large extent be eliminatcd. ~he gla~ wool lattlce mats per~orm their functlon ~s oil adsorbere within the perforated tube very e~foctively and, at the ~ame time, they are prot~cted again~t ~xtornal in~luence~ and damage withln the perforated tube. A
glnss woo~ la~tice mat that i~ of a denslty of 18 to 42 kg/m3 ha~
~ufficlont ad60rtion capacity and adequate ~tability.

The 8dsorption effect of the glass wool lattice mats i8 ~mparted to them, in particular, in ~hat the gla~ fibre~ a~e laid loosely one on top of the othcr After coating, and than baked t~qether at lSO-C. This ~reatee a me~h 6tructure or a three dimensional lattlce th~t wor~s ~uickly and efPecively, and which retain~ ~he oil that has been pickcd up ~ecur~ly. Above 150'~, the react~on proce8s of the s~licon or ~tarch material with the flbre6 i~
nccelerated and optimized, 60 tha~ the requlred advanta~eou~
6 fibre with a ~mall diameter can be bound into the lat~lce truc~Ure.

F~O~ Jor~l~m~ t~ Tr~r~ t~or~l 1n~. F'~10~IE ~IU
2~`~, 9~3 Fl1 The pr~en~ ~nvRnt1on is characterized in particular by the ~act that both a procedure ~nd an oil adgoxb~r are created, with wh~ch ~nker ~ccident6 and c,ther dang~rs ~o t~le environment can be deal~ wlth qu~çkly and reliably. The oil adsorber th~ ha~ been produced ~g deserl~e~ can be ~p~lied to th~ surrace o~ th~ wa~er or ~hQ ground as ~ ss wool lattice mat, whQre~p~n it a~tom~tlc~lly adsorh~ oil or oit~ e sub~tan~e until lt i~
flnd then retains this ~ub~tance ~o that i~, together with th~
gla6~ wool lattice mat, can then be tran~port~d. The glas~ wool l~ttice mat i~ then di~po~cl o~, ~r~ that it can ba either stored in ~n environmentally ~fe manner, or else reused. What lS
~urprising 1~ the speed with whic~ the gla~s wool latt~ce mat~
pick Up t~e oil or oil like ~ubstances, and then reta~n t~em 60 reliably that i5 lt possible to remove them from th~ endangered are~s and ~ubseguen~ly dispose o~ them.

Additional advant~ges and details of the ob~ect o~ the pr~ent ~nvention ~re ~et out in the followinq d~.scription of the assoclAted dr~wing~, whioh ~how a preferred embodiment ô~ the present lnvention, tog~ther With the nec~ssary details and ~ndividusl p~rt~. The~e drawings show the ~ollowing:

Fi~ure 1: Rn apparatus for producin~ glasx fibres, in diagrammatic form;
F~gure 2: ~n individual glass fibre in cros~-section;
Figure 3: A secondary treatment 6tago o the procedure according ~o figure 1:
~iguro 4: A gla~e wool lattice mat that i~ ~hown imbedded in a tube.

Figur~ ~ shows the molten glass (1), that has ~een heated ~n a ~uitable manner, using an appropriate method. ~he flow o~ gla~
~2) enters the area of th~ burner (3), where the rotatin~ baskRt (4) with the spinner tS) ensures an appropriate formation of th~
~ibre. ~he induction heatlng ~ystem i~ numbered (7).

FFOM ~ ,rdsmlt~-. Trdn'~ dtl~lrl Inc. PHnllE ~O.: Fl_ zr~

The ind~vidu~l gla6s fibres (9, lO) leave the ~pinner (5), wh~n ~hey become nvailabl~ a_ a ~lass wool ~trand (18), th~t i~ u~ed for ~ur.ther processing.

Thi6 further proc2ssiny of the gla3s fibres ~g, 10) or the qlass wool 8~rand (18) ls effected by #pa~ing ~ilicon and starch onto the fibres, when thes~ materials are delivered through the feed line8 ~12, 13) already mixcd, and are then delivered to air nozzles (~4) and sprayed onto the glass fibres (9, 1~). Th~ feed pipea (12, ~3~ ~re connecte~ through the mixture container (16) to the ~ilicon container (14) and ~he starch container (15) for thi~ purpose.

Although the glas~ ~low ~2) oan be actQd upon by ~hP hot air at th~ hot air inlet (6), thc air nozzle ~17) can be acted upon by normal alr.

Figur~ 2 ~hows an individual glass fi~re ~9, lo) that i8 provid~d w~th ~ coatlnq ~19) of silicon and ~tarch. For purpo~e6 of oIar$ty, the coating (~9) i~ ~hown oversized.

Flgur~ l make-~ 1t clear that the two glass wool ~trenda (1~, 18l) ~re entw~ned and thus combined, whereas in figure 3 the two glass wool ~tr~nds (18, lB') ~re slmply combined, which 1~ enough to ~t~bilize the fibres or the resulting lattice like ~tructure by ~n appropriate binding e~fect. In the proced~re according to the pre ent invention, this binding ~ B efected by adding starch, wherea~ the silicon i~ intended to render the individual fibre~
(9, 10) water-xepellant.

In the embodiment of the invention that i~ ~hown ~n figure 3, t~e drying proccos takee plao~ at approximately 150'C, Ac a result o~
heatin~ ln the oven ~20). However, there are other po~c~bili~ies for optimizing th~ reeult~ng glas~ wool lattice mAt (21) by h~a~ing .

FR~M: IJ~tc~mlth Tran~ t~ -, Irl-. PI~ONE NO.:
~13 Figure ~ shows a cro~:s section thro~lgh a tu~e ~22), in which the gla6~ wool la~.tlce mat~ ~1) have been install~d. The tube t22) i~ prcl~rld~d with a plurality ~f hc~les ~hat a~e distri~ut~d along lt6 leng~h and arDun~ its perlphery, ~o a6 to permit the pen~tr~tion of the oil or t~ o~ l-llke ~ub~tance thro~lgh the tube (22), when the ~1~YS wool lat~ce mats (21) can exhibit their ad~orption ef fect to the f~

Wh~r~as, Elc:cordlng to ~he a3~ove descriptlon, ad~orpt~ on and binding agent are introduced at only one point, it 1~ aleo po~slble to spr~y ~ ther silicon or 6tarch, or a mixtUre c~f thesc, onto ~ch~ c~lass woc,l ~tr~nd5i (18) ;~t other mixing polnt~
(24, 25), SQ thd~ each o~ thc gla~s wool ~attice mats can be gtven a final fini:~h in the arca of the feed plpe~ ~12, 13) by the ~econd spraying process.

All 0~ the abuv~ cited featurce, ~nclud~n~ those shown in the drawlngs ~lone~ ~re e~ential ~o the pre~;Rnt invention, either alone or in combination.

Claims

1. A procedure for avoiding or eliminating contamination of water and the ground by oil or substances similar to oil, by the application of water-repellant inorganic fibres to the endangered area, the attachment of the endangering oil to the fibres, and disposal by the separation of the fibres and the oil, characterized in that glass wool that is blown in the high temperature range is rendered water-repellant with silicon and with starch (polysaccharides) that serves as a binding agent, and simultaneously bound; in that the appropriately treated glass wool is combined to form a mat-like lattice structure that can be cut, either before or during the drying process at 150°C, and then applied in continuous form to the contaminated water or ground surface, and left there until it is completely saturated, whereupon the largely saturated glass wool is lifted and stored, so that it can then be passed on for mechanical to thermal separation.

2. A procedure as defined in claim 1, characterized in that 7 to 10 per cent of silicon and starch is mixed into the glass wool.

3. A procedure as defined in claim 1, characterized in that silicon and starch are mixed at a proportion of 94 to 96 per cent silicon and 6 to 4 per cent starch, and then mixed into the glass wool together.

4. A procedure as defined in claim 1 and claim 2, characterized in that silicon and starch are sprayed onto the fibres or the fibre strands either prior to or during assembly of the fibres.

5. A procedure as defined in claim 1 and claim 4, characterized in that the fibres that have been sprayed are laid one on top of the other and thus compacted, and then baked together at approximately 150°C.

6. A procedure as defined in claim 1, characterized in that after being sprayed with silicon and starch, the fibres are assembled during once-through positive guidance and then baked together.

7. A procedure as defined in claim 1, characterized in that soft glass wool having a fibre diameter of 5 to 7 µm is used as the glass wool.

8. A procedure as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the glass wool lattice mats that are largely saturated with oil or oil-like substances are freed of oil again during pyrolysis or by direct baking at 850°C.

9. A procedure as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the glass wool lattice mats that are largely saturated with oil or oil-like substances are freed of oil by centrifuging or by compression.

10. A procedure as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the glass wool lattice mats are passed on to a garbage incinerator.

11. A procedure as defined in claim 1, characterized in that glass wool lattice mats are inserted into a perforated tube and together with this are applied to the surface of the water as a variable barrier.

12. An oil adsorber used to pick up oil or oil-like substances from the surface of the water or the ground, this consisting of inorganic fibres that are provided with silicon as a water-repellant agent, characterized in that the glass fibres (9, 10) that are produced in the high temperature range are coated with a mixture of silicon and starch (polysaccharides) (19); in that the fibres are assembled to form a mat-like glass wool strand (18) that can be cut, and are hardened and then cut to length.

13. An oil adsorber as defined in claim 12, characterized in that the glass wool lattice mats (21) are surrounded by a perforated tube (22).

14. An oil adsorber as defined in claim 12, characterized in that the glass wool lattice mats (21) have a gross density of 18 to 42 kg/m3.

15. An oil adsorber as defined in claim 12, characterized in that the glass fibres (9, 10) are laid loosely one on top of the other after being coated and then baked together at 150°C.