Hairstylist and entrepreneur Johan Nortjie believes that more mining companies are likely to consider using Acublot products – mats made of human hair that are used to adsorb oil – in a bid to reduce oil spills and leakages on mine sites.

Since the end of last year, various mining companies have shown interest in the Acublot products, Nortjie highlights, noting that this is as a result of the products offering cost-saving and safety-ensuring opportunities to mines.

In the early 1900s, soldiers shaved their hair to adsorb inland oil spillage. It was from this application that the Acublot adsorbent mat solution for oil spill prevention and recovery was invented using hair from hair salons, he notes.

“An average head of hair weighs about 48 g and can adsorb about 245 g of oil. Human hair is a brilliant organic sorbent of hydrocarbon oils, making it useful across many industries, as a recovery of up to 70% of oil can be made,” says Nortjie.

He further explains that the Acublot concept was initiated in August 2010, with the assistance of important industrial companies, and has since evolved from being used in pilot testing stage to raising interest in the mining and civil sectors.

Acublot mats are made of an outer polyvinyl chloride cover, lined with rubber and an inner reusable cartridge. The inner cartridge is filled with human hair and can be mechanically pressed to retrieve the oil for resale.

The Acublot range consists of the emergency mat set, which adsorbs up to 1.2 ℓ of oil, and can be reused up to five times; the field service mat set, which can adsorb 12 ℓ of oil and can also be reused up to five times; the heavy-duty workshop mat set, which can adsorb up to 12 ℓ of oil; and the light-delivery-vehicle mat, which can also adsorb 12 ℓ of oil.

The cartridge harnesses the adsorbing properties of hair and must be collected by a national oil recycling association (NORA) approved collector, which will safely remove the oil, cleaning the cartridge for recycling. Oil Separation Solutions are collectors of used Acublot mats as they are in partnership with Acublot.

NORA is the oil recycling industry association that coordinates and facilitates the environmentally responsible recovery, collection, transportation, storage, processing and use of used lubrication oils in South Africa.

Acublot products can be applied to used and waste oil. Used oil is defined as oil that has been used and is classified as hazardous. Waste oil is defined as oil that has been contaminated with nonhazardous substances that render the oil unusable for its intended purpose.

Any oil contaminated with hazardous waste is in itself a hazardous waste and must be handled or disposed of in accordance with the National Waste Act. Used and waste oils require proper recycling or disposal to avoid creating an environmental problem.

Nortjie mentions that the success of the pro- duct in other sectors and mining companies, such as mining solutions company Fraser Alexander successfully implementing the solution during an on site contract for platinum producer Anglo American Platinum, sets the stage for more mining companies to use the Acublot solution for their operations.