Why you can’t trust absorbents

A customer recently asked us about the claims of a competitive product to EnviroPad. Yet another spill pad made with absorbents that claims to be effective. So we tested it and, like all the others, it failed basic tests. 

First, we poured a litre of diesel into the middle of the pad and gave it time to absorb. Simply pressing the area containing the diesel caused the fuel to squeeze out of the absorbent layer onto the surface. We hung the pad up over a spill tray and diesel started to drip out immediately.

Next, we poured 10 litres of diesel onto the pad (less than the stated capacity), gave it time to absorb, and then hung it up over the spill tray again. The diesel poured out.

Within a few hours, eight litres of diesel had drained out of the pad (see video clip). After 24 hours in a vertical position the pad had retained 1.2L of the 10 litres of diesel and was still leaking. We estimate that the real volume of liquid retained permanently is less than a litre.

We’re not going to name and shame the product and manufacturer. It applies to all spill pads, mats and nappies made with absorbent materials like polypropylene, recycled textile fibres, sphagnum moss etc. They do not retain hydrocarbons permanently. When saturated, squeezed or moved, they will leak.

So what happens when you hang used pads up in between uses? What happens when you move them across site? What happens when you put heavy equipment on top of a saturated pad? What happens if they fill with rainwater? Spill control products need to deal with real-life scenarios not tame lab conditions.

Such products are deeply and demonstrably flawed. The companies selling these products have either tested them and know this or they don’t test them properly. Don’t waste your money.

Only EnviroPad turns liquid hydrocarbons into a non-leaching solid, trapping the pollutants permanently inside the pad. Once they’re in, they’re not coming out again.

We’ve pioneered the use of smart polymers to deliver effective spill control. But beware of imitations. We’ve come across a copycat smart polymer spill pad. The marketing for this pad, however, states that it must be placed inside a secondary container if used outdoors suggesting that it too leaks.

When it comes to spill control, you can trust Green Rhino. We’re not interested in selling products that don’t work. If you still have projects stubbornly using the outdated, ineffective alternatives, invite us onsite to demonstrate the superior performance of our innovative solutions (use the Book A Site Demo button in the header bar).

Incidentally, the customer (a top 25 construction company) tested the pad themselves and came to the same conclusion.