How long can a SUMILAY stay afloat?
SUMILAY FENCE OR MATS will stay afloat for two to three months. In the event of an oil spill, it is crucial for booms and mats to remain deployed on the water surface over extended periods of time (typically between 3-5 days) to ensure oil containment. As a general rule, booms and mats are not deployed for longer than a month. Therefore, in response to the original question, SUMILAY will not sink.
Actual performance records indicate that oil-saturated SUMILAY MATS remained buoyant within an oil trap for over a year.
Isn't SUMILAY ACTIVE CHARCOAL toxic?
SUMILEI is a positively safe product! SUMILEI is manufactured from the steam-activated extract residue of canned coffee.
Does SUMILAY adsorb odors?
SUMILAY will adsorb certain odors.The specifics of what Active Charcoal is to adsorb are determined at the time of manufacture.There are different types of active charcoal specializing in the adsorption of vapors only, nitrogen only, carbon gases only and so on.Since the objective of SUMILAY is to adsorb oil exclusively, emphasis is not on odor adsorption, although SUMILAY does adsorb oil odors
Does SUMILAY burn easily?
Charcoal (carbon) is a substance that does not burn easily. When a golf club shaft made of carbon is exposed to fire, it will not burn.SUMILAY is difficult to ignite. When SUMILAY is deployed on top of burning oil, it will, in fact as a fire-extinguishing agent.
Does SUMILAY adsorb cooking oil?
Yes. SUMILAY adsorbs cooking oil.SUMILAY will not adsorb animal fats that solidify at low temperatures. However, SUMILAY will adsorb hot, liquefied animal fats. SUMILAY placed in triangular kitchen waste disposals will prevent oil from draining into drainage pipes.
There are two different types of SUMILAY OIL MAT, Type B and W. How do they differ?
Both products are filled with SUMILAY. SUMILAY is the actual oil adsorbent. What differs is the outer cover. Type B is covered in covered with cotton fiber. The outer shell of Type W is made of non-woven material manufactured from polyethylene and polyester (PET: polyethlene terephthalate). Use Type B for deployment on water for two to three days. For longer deployment, use Type W, which will not deteriorate.
How should I dispose of oil-saturated SUMILAY products?
Dispose as industrial waste. Small quantities will be picked up as household garbage. Please check with your local waste disposal office for more information.
Will oil slicks on water completely disappear after deployment of neutralizing agents?
Cf. 'neutralizing agents'.The term 'neutralizing agent' is used for oil spills on rivers in conjunction with oil booms.
'Neutralizing' generally refers to the process whereby an acid and an alkali are mixed, thereby removing their respective characteristics. In this case, however, 'neutralizing' refers to a surfactant, which binds to oil and weakens surface tension. The oil is emulsified and minute oil droplets are dispersed in water. The characteristics of the oil itself remain unchanged.
Oil Dispersants (also called neutralizing agents) cause the formation of minute oil droplets, which disperse in water and are invisible to the eye, i.e. the water appears clean.
In short, the oil is not "neutralized", which is why we encourage disuse of this misleading term.
Oil dispersants have been in use in Japan since 1956. This includes highly toxic substances and those that do not decompose well. At Taniguchi, we have developed a highly environmentally friendly oil dispersant. Still, we discourage the use of oil dispersants in rivers.
Why is SUMILAY an effective oil adsorbent in rivers?
That is because this adsorbent is compatible with low viscosity oil.
The pores size of SUMILAY adsorbents is 1/1000-1/10,000 the diameter of conventional adsorbent pores. SUMILAY pores are ultra-small and have an inverse adsorption capacity of between 550 to 1000 times.
Most oils spilled on rivers have a low specific gravity, are low in viscosity and form a thin, glittering oil film on the water surface. The thickness of this oil film amounts to 1/10000 to 1/100,000mm.
Since river water is a source of water for consumption, industrial and agricultural purposes, even minute oil traces have to be removed. Only SUMILAY with its small pores and great adsorption capacity is able to soak up even the thinnest of oil films. SUMILAY is very compatible with low viscosity oils.
Small pored adsorbents such as SUMILAY do not work well with oil spills at sea. Oil spills at sea mostly involve highly viscous heavy oils. Viscous oils such as crude oil and type-C heavy oil have high specific gravity, which makes it difficult for adsorbents with small pores to soak up all the way.
To sum it up, Generally SUMILAY works well on inland waters. SUMILAY works at sea if the oil spill consists of low viscosity oil.
I think that conventional thick and heavy oil fences are better adsorbents than thin and lightweight SUMILAY OIL FENCES.
When waves hitting the front of the boom cause low viscosity oil to drain away from and flow away underneath the boom, a phenomenon known as 'entrainment' occurs. When high viscosity oil, which accumulates at the front of the oil boom flows away underneath the boom, this is commonly referred to as drainage' phenomenon.
Most oil spills on rivers involve light oil with low specific gravity and low viscosity. The entrainment phenomenon mentioned above, applies mostly to light oil. Oil outflow associated with entrainment occurs regardless of boom gauge and size. Entrainment occurs regardless of diameter and weight of the oil boom.
The outflow of oil with high viscosity and high specific gravity at sea is associated with the drainage phenomenon. Here, deployment of thick and heavy oil booms is more effective.
In rivers, however deployment of 2-3 thin oil booms is more effective than deployment of a single thick oil boom. Parallel-deployed booms increase effectiveness when lines up at distances of four times their diameter.