ESSI INTERNATIONAL

Used tires prove a major solution to oil and gas spills in Alberta

Every year millions of tires are discarded by car owners. Where do they end up? Most of us really don’t think about it. After all, we all pay a tire recycling or environmental fee when we buy new tires and that takes care of it, right?

 Several companies have found uses for these tires and we assume that the entire tire is used for some good and environmentally friendly purpose and the problem has been solved. Used tires are turned into everything from roofing tiles to playground mats to curb stops and much more. However, depending on the recycling process employed approximately five to fifteen percent of the recycled material results in a product that cannot be used for any of these applications. This waste material is then either sent to a landfill or to an incinerator to be burnt for fuel. The net effect is that for every 200 worn out tires replaced by you, me and our neighbours, between 10 and 30 of them end up in landfills or will be used in furnaces, all of which leave things for a future generation to figure out how to deal with the residual negative effect of the landfill or how to clean the air that we, not our children, polluted.

ESSI International, an Alberta based company, has found a novel use for this unwanted material. After reprocessing it, ESSI International is able to use 100 percent of this unwanted material to clean or remediate oil and gas (hydrocarbon) spills, whether they are land or water based. ESSI International holds six patents pending on its processes and has developed both large scale commercial filtration systems for field use, indoor filtration systems, and packaged products that are proactive, preventative, easy to use, and are economically competitive. Once used, the material is recycled to recover the collected hydrocarbons and then the material itself is used as a replacement for sand and gravel in the production of ultra light weight concrete.

 The measurement of hydrocarbons as well as other contaminants is based on the number of parts per million (ppm). ESSI International has used its commercial filtration systems in several environments from water based spills, to soil based spills, and even contaminated clay. Since its inception in 2006, ESSI International has worked with many clients. In one of the worst cases, ESSI International found that hydrocarbons were initially measured at over 33,000 ppm. After using the ESSI International commercial filtration system hydrocarbons were reduced to 88 ppm, which is well below sewer grade guidelines and resulted in a major cost savings to the client.

 ESSI International has also developed a line of manufactured products. These products include Wellhead and Containment bag systems that proactively (as opposed to traditional reactionary “dig and dump” techniques) prevent hydrocarbons from contaminating the earth around the wellhead and adjacent areas. Within North America there are more than one million producing oil and gas sites. With each pump of the equipment, hydrocarbons are lifted from deep within the earth and are pumped into a storage tank or pipeline. However, some of the hydrocarbons leak from the equipment and end up contaminating the earth around the wellhead and nearby areas (pictured here) and may eventually leach into groundwater.

ESSI International has developed a containment system that is easy to use, and can be configured in a variety of different shapes to suit unique applications via the use of Velcro. Once returned to ESSI International, the products are remediated, absolving the lease owner of liability. The program is known as “Bag in a Barrel.” The containment bag is shipped in a 25 gallon drum and when a segment has become contaminated the wellhead operator simply removes the section and places it in the containment barrel. When the barrel is full, the barrel is returned and ESSI International then remediates the contaminated sections. Simple, effective, less costly than all other solutions, and most importantly, it is proactive.

Once ESSI International has used its filtration systems and ground containment products for the remediation of hydrocarbon spills it cleans the filter material and recycles the collected hydrocarbons.

Where other products end up in a landfill or used to fuel incinerators, ESSI International uses its used and then recycled filter material in concrete. The filter material replaces sand and gravel and results in a light weight product that can be used for driveways, side walks, sound barriers, road dividers, etc. It is easier to handle due to its light weight, has been tested to 3,800 psi and is cheaper than traditional concrete. It can be coloured and precast into many different finishes.

ESSI International Enter #1044 on Reader Reply Card Web link courtesy of: baumpub.com/OIL1044 Used tires REMEDIATION prove a major solution to oil and gas spills in Alberta ESSI International has used its commercial filtration systems in several environments from water based spills to soil based spills, and even contaminated clay. Wellhead and Containment Bag Systems proactively prevent hydrocarbons from contaminating the earth around wellheads and adjacent areas. The “Bag in a Barrel” program is easy to use and can be configured in a variety of different shapes to suit unique applications. 14 Oil & Gas Product News