Green Boom is proud to announce a new partnership with Twin Specialties to provide our 100 percent biodegradable absorbent products to manufacturers.
Since 1955, Twin Specialties has been providing high-quality oils and chemicals to manufacturers. With high-quality service and a diverse menu of products to meet any and all operational requirements, they are committed to improving companies’ manufacturing. As a small business, Twin cares for its customers’ needs and makes sure they are there whenever and wherever.
Twin Specialties will now offer the following Green Boom absorbents:
Booms
Socks
Pillows
Loose absorbent
What are Microbes
Microbes (or microorganisms) are microscopic organisms that exist as a single cell or a colony of cells. All single-cell organisms are considered microbes. Thus, the term, microbes, is broad and encompasses a wide variety of organisms that exist in nearly every environment and can adapt to extreme conditions. Microbes are important in human life as they can perform a wide variety of tasks that are critical, such as:
Fermenting food
Treating sewage
Producing fuel and other bioactive compounds
Producing soil nutrients
Using Microbes on Oil Spills
When an oil spill occurs, the first step is trying to absorb as many hydrocarbons as possible. In marine settings, this is crucial in stopping contamination. In most manufacturing and industrial settings, people will use absorbent pads, booms, socks, etc. These products absorb hydrocarbons and then can be disposed of in a landfill (via a waste management company). However, there are some environmental issues with this cleanup process. The oil is not remediated as it is put into the landfill.
This is where microbes can help treat the hydrocarbons. After a spill, remediation companies will spray the spill with a microbe liquid suspension or spread a microbe culture powder. This occurs after the absorbents soaked up loose oil. So not all the oil is remediated by the microbes and some of it will be put into landfills. Having microbes within the absorbents and/or deployed immediately on the spill will improve the cleanup.
Eating the Oil
Microbes degrade or “eat” hydrocarbons and then break them down into water and carbon dioxide. Scientists measure oil contamination in soil or water by measuring Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) in samples. They measure a site over time by regularly measuring TPH over time. If the microbes are doing their job, TPH should drop over time. This is typically done for oil spills in soil or water. If these microbes are present in absorbents, they can continue to degrade the absorbed oil even after the absorbents have been disposed of.