ABOUT
Our Commitment to the Environment
PEAT SORB has practiced and delivered environmental excellence since its inception.
Ahead of its time on environment and ecology with “best practices” our long history of helping globally to render the spill harmless is our tradition.
PEAT SORB values the health and safety of its customers, partners, distributors and the inhabitants of all marine and land species in the communities that it serves.
Our products neutralize toxicity, suppress flammable vapors and have high biodegradability results to prove below regulatory limits and non- detect readings after treatment. We deliver the highest quality products that outperform our client’s performance objectives.
Animals and marine life threatened by hydrocarbon spills will be spared needless suffering and their habitats will not endure long term damage.
Oil on animal’s fur and bird’s feathers are easily removed with Peat Sorb, no need to introduce dish detergents that are known to have the agent Triclosan, a derivative of a pesticide that can be transdermally absorbed and affect the hormonal health of animals and birds.
Animal Safe
ABSORB, REMEDIATE & RESTORE - We leave water pristine, rocks clean and enhance vegetation
ORIGIN & HARVESTING
Peat Sorb began in 1989. Canada prides itself on having the highest quality Sphagnum Peat Moss with 25% of the world’s Peat Bogs. Globally in demand, Peat is respectfully environmentally managed both provincially and by the federal government, to be ever sustainable to help millions of people around the world for generations to come.
Harvesting takes place when Mother Nature says so, after the first thaw usually in from May with good weather conditions through to October.
The portion to be harvested is first cleared and drained and then harrowed and raked. The loosened peat is then vacuumed up. We only skim the top layers, always leaving the Peat Bogs with regrowing abilities. Raw peat is then stored at the plant ready for processing.
PROCESSING
Peat Sorb Granular Form:
The raw peat is first put through a shredder to break large pieces to a consistent size.
The product is then screened to take out wood sticks and other debris. It then passes through a proprietary drying process that reduces the moisture content from a horticultural growing medium peat to hydrocarbon absorbing peat.
The fine screened peat is separated from the coarse peat leaving a cleaner product from the user’s point of view. The coarse product is then conveyed to compressing and bagging machines. Peat Sorb is shipped in the form of compressed bales or in loose filled bags. Many fabric encased products are also available for strategic use.
After processing, the resulting absorbent product is principally humic fiber, which when Peat Sorb breaks down last after encapsulation of hydrocarbons, becomes a fertilizer enriching spill sites with greener and healthier vegetation than before the spill.
PROPERTIES
The range of physical and chemical properties of peat has led to many applications for it. It has long been used in agriculture and horticulture and its properties as a fuel have been appreciated for centuries. As a result of its cellular structure, the sorbent properties have a high capacity for ionic exchange. Peat has been used as a natural filter to purify residential and industrial effluents and to absorb liquids and odors.
Peat, in its dehydrated form as Peat Sorb, has additional properties - as a result of its dry cellular structure, Peat Sorb has a wicking or sponging action that allows it to completely soak up hydrocarbons where water was once stored. The oil or other hydrocarbons are locked within the cells of the Peat Sorb and will not leach out. This is the result of the very large surface area within the modified peat.
Since it repels water, Peat Sorb will float while absorbing water-borne contaminants. Peat Sorb will pick up a full range of petroleum products from; crude oil to gasoline and has been used to solidify and absorb resins, PCB’s, coal tars, fatty acids and hydrocarbon based inks.
With respect to oil or petrol spills on water Peat Sorb’s ability to float is of great benefit. Depending upon prevailing conditions Peat Sorb will float for a considerable amount of time before taking on water and sinking.
During this time, it will soak up water-borne oil on contact. All oil is absorbed and retained within the Peat Sorb where it can do no further harm to the environment, even if it should sink before recovery workers can remove it from the water. Since it is a totally natural product, Peat Sorb whether it contains oil or not, can be left in the subject environment without fear of further damage.
The hydrocarbons locked into the Peat Sorb will biodegrade. Naturally occurring micro-organisms and the humic acid in the Peat Sorb contribute to the breakdown of the oil products. Petroleum products are complex mixtures that may contain hundreds of different hydrocarbon compounds. Each constituent will affect the behaviour of the product both before and after absorption. In the final analysis however, all hydrocarbons are organic carbon compounds containing only carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. Almost all petroleum hydrocarbons will be degraded to carbon dioxide and water by microbial process within Peat Sorb within a relatively short time.
The speed with which petroleum products biodegrade is affected by many factors, including oxygen levels, moisture, temperature, acidity, nutrient content and the size and type of natural microbes present. Significant degradation of petroleum hydrocarbons in soil has been documented in time periods of less than three months.
Depending upon the nature of the petroleum product more typical time periods for degradation are in the range of six to eighteen months. The hydrocarbons trapped inside Peat Sorb will degrade to carbon dioxide and water long before the Peat Sorb degrades.
Oil, retained and biodegrading inside non-leaching Peat Sorb, is a better alternative to free floating oil which can continue to damage fish, plants and wildlife.
THE PEAT SORB ADVANTAGE
Peat Sorb is lightweight for easy handling and transportation. Peat Sorb is up to 12 times more effective than clay, depending on the viscosity of the hydrocarbon being absorbed.
One 30 lb bag of Peat Sorb will absorb 30 gallons of oil. To clean up the same 30-gallon spill, you would need at least 400 lbs of clay.
Peat Sorb has the advantage of being non-abrasive. For abrasive wear to happen to machinery it must come into contact with another substance of equal or greater hardness. Peat Sorb, with a hardness factor of about 1 will not damage steel which has a hardness factor of 5. Clay, a commonly used inorganic sorbent, has a hardness factor exceeding 6 and will damage metal parts and cause rapid deterioration of soft rubber and plastic parts. Peat Sorb can be used around all types of machinery without fear of damaging expensive equipment.
Most petroleum products are extremely volatile. Effective spill response involves rapid limitation of the exposure pathways to prevent skin contact, inhalation or ingestion. The vapour suppressive and static resistant qualities of Peat Sorb, in its granular form, are significant safety features for Spill Response crews.
Workers’ health and safety is the top priority when cleaning up spills. Peat Sorb achieves this!
LABORATORY TESTS
Peat Sorb and peat-based sorbents generally, have been subjected to a variety of laboratory tests. Most of these tests have been conducted in order to determine compliance with regulatory requirements, particularly in the United States.
Generally, the various regulatory authorities in the United States require three performance tests to determine whether a sorbent is suitable for landfill disposal. These are the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP), the Liquid Release Test and the Paint Filter Test. Peat Sorb has been subjected to these tests and has been found to satisfy their requirements.
In May 1990, Peat Sorb in its granular form was analyzed by Zenon Environmental Inc. for leachate quality. Their opinion was that the product meets the requirements of the Ministry of the Environment for the Province of Ontario, Canada and that the sample submitted passed to be safe for disposal in a landfill site. All results of the testing’s are available upon request.
In March 1991, Analytical Services, Inc. analyzed Peat Sorb containing gasoline and oil pursuant to the TCLP in effect at that time. The results of both the gasoline test and the oil test indicate that the substances tested for were below detection limits.
In tests performed in January 1992 and reported the following month, National Environmental Technology Applications Corporation (NETAC) examined Peat Sorb’s ability to absorb cutting oil and to characterize the cutting oil-absorbent mixture as to suitability for landfill disposal. These tests were conducted according to United States EPA approved methods and instrumentation in all analytical work. The tests indicate a holding capacity of cutting oil absorbed to absorbent of 3.78 to 1 based on weight. The analyses of the samples of the cutting oil-Peat Sorb mixtures tested show that Peat Sorb had absorbed cutting oil and passed the TCLP tests with none of the listed compounds being detected.
Peat Sorb meets the requirements of the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP), the Paint Filter Test and the Liquid Release Test.
The producer using a modified soil mechanics consolidated testing machine has evaluated release of oil from Peat Sorb. Peat Sorb was mixed with varying proportions of Soya oil and subjected to a pressure of 50 psi. The test show that at a ratio of 1 -1/4 parts of oil to 1 part Peat Sorb, no oil was released. The tests show Peat Sorb will absorb approximately seven times its own weight of oil.
An independent test of Peat Sorb’s vapour suppression capabilities and the effects of foam on Peat Sorb was carried out by the Fire Department of a city in the state of Kansas, USA. The tests show that Peat Sorb is an effective product in the suppression of flammable vapours. Extracts of the report on this test are also available upon request.
Independent laboratory tests show that Peat Sorb is non-leaching, non-toxic and suitable for landfill disposal provided that the substance absorbed is non-toxic due to current legislation on disposal regulations.
The sorbent properties of Peat Sorb products have been extensively tested by the Emergencies Engineering Division of Environment Canada. Peat Sorb, was laboratory tested on six hydrocarbons and water. For each gram of modified Peat sorbent the hydrocarbon capacities were 8.38 grams of crude oil, 6.76 grams of weathered oil, and 5.51 grams of Bunker C on contact.
The Peat Sorb pads were tested in a controlled laboratory experiment to discover its absorption and retention capacity. Polypropylene pads were tested under the exact same conditions. The pads were saturated with transmission oil. The pads were then exposed to three different pressures. Under 2.0 psi, the equivalent of picking up the pad, the Peat Sorb pad held onto 91% of the oil absorbed. The Polypropylene pad released almost 50% of the oil it had absorbed.
Laboratory and practical tests show Peat Sorb to be an effective, excellent sorbent for a wide variety of liquids.