What is PRP®Powder?
PRP® Powder is an organic bioremediation accelerator consisting of tiny spheres of treated beeswax. Developed by a NASA Technology spin-off company, PRP® Powder was nominated to the NASA Hall of Fame.
When PRP comes in contact with spilt oil, it “adsorbs” the hydrocarbons inside of the nanospheres. Once inside the PRP spheres, the hydrocarbons are no longer sticky or able to interact with surrounding wildlife, plants and property, and will never be able to enter the water table. Nutrients in the sphere help microorganisms from the immediate environment flourish until they eat every droplet of oil. PRP® will absorb and remediate, over time, 10 to 20 times its weight in hydrocarbons
PRP® Powder comes in loose powder form, floating absorbent booms or weighted Wellbooms for groundwater deployment. The booms are particularly effective at remediating spills on water and in interceptor tanks.
PRP®Powder
- Environmentally safe
- One application only required
- Cleans spilled oils and fuels
- Totally biodegradable
- Contains no bacteria
- Keeps oil from interacting with plants and wildlife
- No residue – nothing to clean up
Tested for use by
Where to use PRP® Powder
It is equally effective on spills on land, water and hard surfaces including:
- Industrial plant settings (such as cooling ponds and tanks)
- Shorelines – whether rocky or sandy
- Marinas
- Railroad tracks
- Oil wells/oil fields
- Maintenance facilities
- Truck roll-overs
- Marshes/wetlands
How to apply PRP® Powder
Methods of applying loose PRP® range from a simple hand sprinkle to portable, mechanized hydro sprayers.
PRP® booms are designed to float on water and can be laid on the surface of rivers, lakes or the ocean, or on the surface
of the water in interceptor tanks.
National Environmental Technology Applications Corporation (NETAC)
NETAC is an independent environmental technology evaluation organization, key in the development of methods currently used by the U.S. EPA to evaluate biological methods that enhance oil spill degradation. The efficacy of PRP® was undertaken by NETAC and their key findings are:
- PRP® Powder significantly enhances the biodegrading of diesel fuel as compared to the non-stimulated natural
population of micro-organisms. - PRP® Powder treatment reduced the presence of aliphatic hydrocarbon compounds by 97% and aromatic compounds by 76%; reduction in the control product was 48% of aliphatic compounds and 5% of aromatic compounds.
- PRP® Powder interacts with diesel fuel oil to form a matrix, producing a mixture which is solid and relatively stable. No enhancement in biodegradation was found in the control group of sorbents.
- PRP® Powder used in conjunction with an absorbent and a boom absorbs petroleum products and enhances the biodegradation of diesel fuel oil by absorption into the sorbent boom.
PRP® is now in use in multiple remediation scenarios across a wide spectrum of industries. PRP® has remediated over 500,000 cubic metres of contaminated soil, as well as hundreds of mangroves, waterways and wetlands, over the past ten years.
*The listing of a product on the Product Schedule does NOT mean that EPA approves, recommends, licenses, certifies, or authorizes the use of the product on an oil discharge. The listing means only that data have been submitted to EPA as required by Subpart J of the National Contingency Plan, Section 300.915. (Source: 40 CFR § 300.920 (e))