Fox10tv.com

Oil clean-up ideas amass in Gulf Shores

Updated: Monday, 21 Jun 2010, 6:41 PM CDT
Published : Monday, 21 Jun 2010, 6:34 PM CDT

• Hubert Tate
• Photojournalist: Franz Barazza

GULF SHORES, Alabama (WALA) - There is no shortage of ideas when it comes to cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf. At Gulf State Park Pier Monday, BP held an event to review some of those ideas to possibly use.

The event was somewhat like a science fair. Vendors from across the country presented their ideas on how to contain the oil.

Brian Ablett's idea would have to be fanned out across the water. The Canadian said his invention would soak up the oil.

"This is a thin film. It's attracted to oil and rejects water," Ablett explained.

Kraig Shook from south Florida said his powder product would be scattered over the Gulf. It would catch the oil before it makes it to the shoreline, then be scooped up with a device.

"The difference is when you capture the oil, you can reclaim it. So out of every ton of every captured oil, (BP) gets three barrels of oil," Shook told FOX10.

Steve Wenzel from Loxley said his liquid formula would disperse the oil.

"It obliterates the oil, there is no collecting of the oil. In other words, it affects the bonding molecules of the oil," said Wenzel. "It's manufactured in Tennessee. We are the local distributor and we are just trying to bring this to notice."

BP leaders said there are a lot of ideas out there, but not every idea is a good idea. That's why each one must proven effective.

But no matter what the invention is, each inventor agrees something must be done to protect the next generation.

WKRG News

Pat Peterson

Oil Containment Technology

WKRG.com News


by Pat Peterson

Published: Mon, June 21, 2010 - 3:25 pm CSTLast Updated: Mon, June 21, 2010 - 4:46 pm CST

GULF SHORES, Alabama -
The parking lot at Gulf State Park looked more like a high-tech science fair Monday. Eleven vendors, some from as far away as Canada, showed off their oil containment and response inventions to BP officials, hoping to sign contracts with the petroleum giant in the Gulf Coast clean-up.


"These folks had a little bit of interesting and different approach to technology that they want to use," says Bob Acker with BP.


"These are ideas that people have that have passed some bit of tests before they've gotten to this point and BP has said, yeah, there's some promise here," says Ray Melick with BP.


The products these vendors are marketing are the "best of the best"...and could benefit in the oil clean-up and response.


If BP selects these products to use in the clean-up, the financial rewards could be very lucrative for the vendors. But the vendors say it's not about the money...it's about protecting the Gulf Coast from an enemy that's been almost impossible to stop.

WEAR ABC 3

COASTAL CRISIS

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COASTAL AREA - For more than a month, people across the Gulf Coast have been demanding that BP consider alternative methods for cleaning up the oil.



Now... BP is finally doing just that.

Channel Three's Bill Pearson shows us the wide range of options now being considered for our coastal clean-up.



Bill Pearson, "There are nearly a dozen new technologies being demonstrated here... All with the promise of improving the oil cleanup process up and down the Gulf Coast."



This is a product called Erosion Tech... It's an organic boom designed to absorb large amounts of oil as it washes ashore.



Josh Still/Erosion Tech said, "For shoreline, for beaches, we feel like we have a very viable, deployable solution with large resources and lots of capability behind it."



With all the concerns over the dispersants now being used in the gulf to break down the oil... Steve Wenzel of Green Life Technology says his company has a better solution.



Steve Wenzel/Green Life Technology said, "Anyway you can introduce our product, just like a common dispersant. We're just a new technology. Completely non-toxic, completely biodegradable... six hundred times safer than baby soap."



There were a couple of products focused on making it easier to remove oil from the water.



Boyd Eifling/Nature's Broom said, "You can see the burnt motor oil there, floating on top of the surface. Now, what I'm going to do is take a little bit of Nature's Broom and put on top of the oil. Now, what this allows us to do, we can vacuum the product, as you can see, we can move the oil at a much greater rate."



American Green Cross says their booms would be much more effective than the current absorbent boom now being used.



Christopher Smith said, "In 13 minutes, the foam had absorbed all of the oil from the catch release pan."



Scott C. Smith said, "I'm excited because there's no one product that's a miracle here. It's a combo of a lot of products."



Bill Pearson, "BP's scientists and environmental experts will now review each of the products they've seen out here... The vendors we spoke with are hoping for an answer in the next couple of weeks.

Monday, June 21 2010, 09:46 PM EDT

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