Environmental solutions company Procon Environmental Technologies has noticed that local coal mines are creating landfill sites where they undertake their own remediation on site to prevent excessive environmental damage.
The problem with this on site-treatment is that the area must be cordoned off, and environmental elements, such as rain, increase the risk of any spills spreading. Mines also want to reduce the time it takes to remediate, so being able to do the job themselves is a valid option.
Procon's bioremediation engineer William Miller explains that, by using a process that literally sees nature restoring nature, the company is able to bioremediate soils, water and hard surfaces, such as concrete, rock and paving. Procon currently either treats spills on the premises of mines, or the material is transported to a disposal site.
Marine biologist Dr Carl Henry Oppenheimer discovered the bioremediation solution, where he selected naturally occurring communities of microorganisms or microbes that break down hydrocarbons in a manner that is safe for the environment.
"The 1970s saw a rise in environmental concerns with fuel tanker spillages that contaminated oceans and shorelines. Oil spills polluted the water, killed marine life and were virtually impossible to clean off the ocean's surface. Entire ecologies were permanently damaged as a result," says Miller.
The Oppenheimer Formula, for which Procon is the sole South African distributor, is a highly concentrated collection of microbes containing more than 100-billion cells in each gram.
The microbes are activated by water, and stay alive longer when given air and a food source. They break down the chain of the oil and regenerate the damaged environment, explains Miller
In dealing with various situations that require remediation, containment is always the first option for Procon. The containment process has to begin as quickly as possible to prevent further spreading, the speed of which depends on the type of soil if the spill is on land.
Miller says that sandy soil enables the spill to seep much deeper, with the greatest danger being that it reaches and contaminates the water table. Once the spill has reached the water table, the consequences can be disastrous.
"The worst case is that the spill reaches a river, farmland, wetland or game farm, due to the harm it can do to animals, humans and crops. However, a spill usually accurs across multisurfaces, such as concrete, soil, stone and water," Miller explains.
He says that treatment is performed backwards, with sourcing beginning at the last point the spill has reached and then containment begins.
"It's important to note, though, that damage is determined by the depth and size of the spill, and not always by the amount that spills. A 2 000 l spill can contaminate 120 m3 of soil in various permutations of width, length and depth," he notes.
Government operations began using bioremediation in the early nineties, but organisations still have the legal option to choose between disposal or bioremediation.
Miller says that with soil remediation, South Africa is on par with the rest of the world. It is also encouraging that, in South Africa, there are very few companies that want to contain a spill and let it break down by itself, which can take many months and sometimes years depending on the complexity of the spill.
With augmented bioremediation, which is the more popular option in Africa, a spill can be broken down in a month in some instances.
The Oppenheimer Formula range has a variety of strengths, each with unique properties to tackle specific problem areas. BioZome, for example, is designed to recycle natural organic materials where the microbes convert the organic matter into soil supplements.
TerraZyme is used on all hard surfaces, vertical or horizontal, and immediately begins to absorb the spilled material. Complete absorption of the spill can take a few minutes to absorb light diesel fuel or an hour to absorb heavy oil.
Procon's Mighty Mickey keeps septic tanks and grease trap systems in peak operating condition by providing microbes that liquefy waste material. An added benefit is the removal of any oil or grease that may be coating the inner walls of pipes and causing slow drainage.
For fresh or salt water surfaces, there is Aquazyme, which stays locked in the oil while degrading the spilled material.
With clients in industries as varied as power stations, transport, coal mining and petrochemicals, Miller says that many use liquid containment facilities to create a physical barrier to contain the spillage, while others have built oil collection dams to reroute the spilt fuel to these locations.
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