DATE: 6/15/10

TO:   Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Cleanup Partners   

SUBJECT:  Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Mitigation

Introduction
The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico is the largest environmental disaster in US history.  Filtrexx International has been a recognized industry leader in environmental remediation, land protection, and water quality applications in the US and across the globe for over a decade.  Filtrexx International has a unique position in its ability to help manage oil spill clean-up programs based on industry leading research, manufacturing capability, distribution networks, and trained and certified installation teams.  Filtrexx International is one of the only environmental remediation management companies with extensive third party product performance research on oil absorbent and filtration technologies published in the leading scientific and trade journals in the United States.  Filtrexx International is an industry leader in land and water quality protection product manufacturing, with the ability to produce over 60,000 ft per day of oil boom and oil filtration products.  With a distribution and certified installer network of over 150 companies, Filtrexx International has the ability to service the entire 5 state gulf region by providing delivered palletized products to impacted areas and/or custom installation for challenging applications.  Filtrexx International is registered with the Federal Government Central Contracting Registration (CCR) and has distributors that are General Services Administration (GSA) certified.       

Solutions: Oil Removal & Remediation
Filtrexx International’s patented PetroLoxxTM product is a natural absorbent that is used with Oil FilterSoxxTM and BoomsTM for land and water quality protection applications. It is specifically used to reduce petroleum hydrocarbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon loads on land or water.  PetroLoxxTM has a very high surface area per unit weight, thereby absorbing and physically filtering petroleum hydrocarbons from water sources. PetroLoxxTM can be applied in varying application rates to fit the petroleum removal objective of the application.  PetroLoxxTM is not a coagulant and is 100% formulated with all natural materials.  Figure 1 summarizes product performance evaluated by the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS).  For additional testing and research, or Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on FilterSoxxTM and PetroLoxxTM contact Filtrexx International.

Figure 1: Performance of FilterSoxxTM and PetroLoxxTM in Hydrocarbon Removal Applications

Source: Faucette, B. F. Cardoso-Gendreau, E. Codling, A. Sadeghi, Y. Pachepsky, D. Shelton. 2009. Storm water pollutant removal performance of compost filter socks. Journal of Environmental Quality. 38:1233-1239.

Source: Faucette, B, M. Minkara, and F. Cardoso. 2009. City of Chattanooga urban stormwater retrofit. Stormwater: The Journal for Surface Water Quality Professionals. May: 58-61.

A benefit of compost filled FilterSoxxTM is that they can naturally provide, 1) a high diversity of microorganisms including hydrocarbon degrading microorganisms and, 2) an optimum environment for beneficial microorganisms to thrive. Hydrocarbon degrading microorganisms require an environmental habitat that has a sufficient and preferably sustainable (slow release) source of nutrients (mostly N and P), water, air, mild ambient temperature, and a moderate pH - compost provides a habitat that supplies each of these environmental factors. At optimum levels, these abiotoc factors provide the energy and metabolic resources that create a widely diverse group of beneficial microorganisms that will suddenly reproduce on a very rapid scale. While these degrader microorganisms increase their populations they also work rapidly and effectively to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons, for food (from carbon) to sustain their growth pattern. Additionally, it is often the humus content of compost (6 times higher in mature compost than typical soils) that catalyzes the degradation process of organic compounds/contaminants (Stevenson, 1994 and USEPA, 1998). Petroleum contaminated soils amended with compost have exhibited degradation rates of 375 mg kg-1/day compared to only 40 mg kg-1/ day without compost (Stegmann et al, 1991 and Hupe et al, 1996). At the rate exhibited by the compost amended soil, typical petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soils (normal range is between 5,000 to 20,000 mg kg-1) can be completely degraded in 14 to 60 days
(USEPA, 1998). According to the USEPA (1998) compost has been shown to degrade the following contaminants under controlled conditions and/or in field research programs: petroleum hydrocarbons (gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel, oil, grease), polynuclear aromatic
hydrocarbons (wood preservatives, refinery wastes, coal gasification wastes), pesticides (herbicides and insecticides), and explosives (TNT, RDX, nitrocellulose).

Bacteria and Fungi are the primary agents for degradation of organic contaminants in soil (Alexander, 1994), and increasing the diversity, population, and community structure can accelerate the degradation of the contaminants (Cole et al, 1994). Microbial diversity and
population density is greatly increased by the addition of compost compared to fertile, productive soils; therefore, bioremediation takes far less time with compost than under natural conditions (Cole et al, 1994 and USEPA, 1998). Normal bacteria populations in fertile soils are approximately 26 million/gram of dry soil, while in compost bacteria populations are approximately 417 million/ gram of dry compost. Similarly, fungi populations in fertile soils are approximately 28 thousand/gram dry soil and 155 thousand/gram for dry compost (Cole, 1977 and Cole et al, 1994). Microbial activity in mature compost can be 40 times greater in compost than in soil (USEPA, 1998). It is no surprise that hydrocarbon degrading microorganisms are isolated from compost and used to inoculate bioremediation projects (Civilini et al, 1996 and Castaldi et al, 1995). In an experiment to evaluate the fate of captured hydrocarbons undergoing bioremediation by Hupe et al (1996), 59% was converted to CO2, 4% was volatilized, 4% was converted into the biomass of the microorganisms, 8% was extractable (in its original form), and 24% was bound to the residue. The fraction that bonds with the residue often is incorporated into the core structure of the humic materials, making it relatively bio-unavailable for decades or even centuries (Stevenson, 1994 and USEPA, 1998). This is the principle technology Filtrexx utilizes in oil absorbent and remediation projects.

Products & Services
Filtrexx International provides the following oil remediation products and services:

• Pre-manufactured ‘booms’ on pallets, 100 ft in length for land based applications, and shipped anywhere by common carrier.
• Mobile production capabilities to manufacture on-site at any location. Source materials are available. 
• Large volume inventory of boom making mesh material.  If you make booms now and cannot get mesh netting material, call us, we can help.
• Largest fleet of on-site installation contractors in North America, specializing in environmental remediation in sensitive areas such as estuaries, wetlands, and salt marshes where applications can be difficult.
• Scientific team capable of assisting in environmental impact assessments, soil and water testing, and similar environmental emergency response services.
• Engineering and design services to assist engineers, contractors, and environmental professionals in water treatment, watershed protection, soil remediation, habitat and estuary preservation, and waste recycling and management plans.
• Waste management and recycling of oil booms and filters.
• High speed, low cost equipment for on-site manufacturing of oil booms and filters.
• Specialty products for oil boom and oil filtration applications.

Filtrexx International and its dedicated partners are ready to serve in minimizing the impact, mitigating the destruction, and restoring the environmental and natural resources of the Gulf Region.  Please contact us immediately if we can help you or your organization protect the communities, industries, and resources of the Gulf Region.

Dr. Britt Faucette, Ph.D., LEED AP, CPESC
Chief Scientist
Filtrexx International, LLC

Rod Tyler,
Chief Executive Officer
Filtrexx International, LLC

References Cited

Alexander, M., 1994. Biodegradation and Bioremediation. San Diego: Academic Press.

Castaldi, F.J., K.J. Bombaugh, and B. McFarland, 1995. Thermophilic slurry-phase treatment of petroleum hydrocarbon waste sludges. In: Micorbial Processes for Bioremediation, by R.E. Hinchee, F.J. Brockman, C.M. Vogel, 231-250. Columbus, OH: Battelle Press.

Civilini, M.C., M. de Bertoldi, and N. Sebastianutto, 1996. Composting and selected microorganisms for bioremediation of contaminated materials. In: The Science of Composting, by M. de Bertoldi, and P. Tiziano, 913-923. London: Blackie Academic and
Professional.

Cole, M.A., 1977. Effect of long term atrazine application on soil microbial activity. Weed Science 24: 473- 476

Cole, M.A., X. Liu, L. Zhang, 1994. Plant and microbial establishment on pesticide-contaminated soils amended with compost. In: Bioremediation Through Rhizosphere
Technology, edited by T.A. Anderson and J.R. Coats, 210-222. Washington, DC: American Chemical Society.

Hupe, K., J.C. Luth, J. Heerenklage, and R. Stegmann, 1996. Enhancement of the biological degradation of contaminated soils by compost addition. In: The Science
of Composting, by M. de Bertoldi, P. Bert, and P. Tiziano, 913-923. London: Blackie Academic and Professional.

Stegmann, R., S. Lotter, and J. Heerenklage, 1991. Biological treatment of oil-contaminated soils in bioreactors. In: On-Site Bioreclamation, edited by R.E. Hinchee
and R.F. Olfe

Stevenson, F.J., 1994. Humus Chemistry. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.

USEPA, 1998. An Analysis of Composting As an Environmental Remediation Technology. US EPA Solid Waste and Emergency Response