Equipment for Oil Spill Clean Up on Sandy Beaches

Environmental clean up of oil spills from sandy beaches like along the Gulf Coast requires more special equipment and methods than rocky beaches that can be washed off with a pressure hose. As the oil percolates through the sand particles it forms a bond that is not easily broken.

Because oil floats on water the "SLASHBSUTER"® LW362M Stirrer attachment separates the sand from the oil via mechanical agitation and skimming. The cleanup method using this equipment is to excavate contaminated beach sand and dump it into large mobile vats or barges that are then flooded with water. The excavator mounted stirrer is then used to vigorously agitate the slurry causing the oil to rise to the top where it is skimmed off for recovery or disposal.

stirring equipment to seperate sand from oil

Oil spill cleanup equipment

Bioremediation enhancement agents or dispersants may be injected directly into the stirring action. Pumping these materials into an agitated slurry enhances the availability of hydrocarbons to the agents, increasing their ability to emulsify and decreasing the amount of agents needed for the cleanup operation.

For in situ bioremediation applications the stirrer may also be used for aeration where populations of inoculated bacteria and/or microbes are limited by available oxygen.