Green Boom – A Greener Oil Spill Cleanup Solution

For decades whenever there was an oil spill around the shop it was the same drill. A big bag of clay absorbent (sometimes referred to as “kitty litter”) would get drug out of the corner, spread around, swept back up, and tossed in the trash barrel. It wasn’t a bad solution, but innovation always moves things forward including oil spill cleanup. That’s just what the people at Green Boom have done.

Relocating The Problem Isn’t An Answer

The founders of Green Boom Sudhir Sharma, Phd and Yulin Deng, Phd, noticed that traditional oil cleanup solutions had a problem. The polypropylene-based absorbents most commonly used today may do a good job at soaking up oil, but now you have oil-soaked plastic waste that needs disposal. That waste usually ended up in landfills, taking decades to break down. Even worse, these plastic absorbents would break down into microplastics. In the end the oil may be cleaned up in one place, but the actual waste has just been moved somewhere else. That didn’t make sense to Sudhir and Yulin.

A More Environment Solution

Absorbing oil is just part of the cleanup process. Dealing with the oil soaked waste still needs to be addressed. Green Boom takes a novel approach by using a biodegradable material to do the work. The heart of the process is a patented biodegradable natural fiber biomass that absorbs the oil itself. It is specially designed to repel water and only soak up oil. For products like absorbent pads, pillows, or booms the outer layer is made from biodegradable treated cotton. 

When it comes time to dispose of the collected oil soaked materials, Green Boom has one more trick up its sleeve: oil-eating bacteria. These special bacteria love oil-rich environments and actually eat hydrocarbons. Simply mix the used Green Boom materials with water and their special Oily™ remediation material to start the process. Over a few weeks the bacteria in Oily™ breaks down the oil while the other biodegradable materials turn to compost. The result is an “oil to soil” solution that is more environmentally friendly than traditional methods.

Green Boom has been tested and certified as a 100% biomass product by the USDA. That means no plastics, just natural materials. Their products also meet Germany’s stringent TÜV certification for oil spill cleanup.

Ready To Handle Any Spill

Green Boom carries the most popular oil-spill tackling products any shop might need:

• Absorbent Pads
• Loose Bagged Absorbent
• Oil Spill Kits

You use these products just like any other oil absorbent, so no need for new training. One benefit of Green Boom’s loose absorbent is that it weighs significantly less than that old bag of kitty litter, making it easier to spread and sweep up. It is also free of silica dust and is non-toxic. One 30-pound bag of loose absorbent can soak up 18 gallons of oil! 

The absorbent pads can be reused up to seven times for maximum value. Simply squeeze out the oil into an appropriate container and it is ready to go again! They fit in tight spaces for hard to reach jobs and are great for use under persistent leaks. 

Go Green!

Oil spills happen, that’s just a fact for any shop. How you handle the aftermath makes a difference though. If you want to keep from adding plastic to the waste stream while still getting the job done, give Green Boom a try. Available exclusively at your local NAPA Auto Parts store and at NAPAonline.