Cleaning up construction site accidents – naturally

Implenia Sweden has recently started using DissOil, a sustainable absorbent material, to clean up oil and fuel spills on construction sites. Based on natural cork, this innovative method quickly sorts out critical situations and prevents environmental damage.

Despite all the precautions, oil and fuel spills can still occur on construction sites. In its efforts to manage such accidents and mishaps, Implenia Sweden has been testing the innovative absorption agent DissOil for a number of years. DissOil is made 100 percent from cork, a renewable raw material produced as a waste product of, for example, bottle cork production.

Implenia is the second company in the world to test DissOil, and the first in the construction industry. DissOil granules are scattered on the spilled liquid and start absorbing greasy components within seconds. It absorbs up to ten times its own weight of grease. but does not take in water. In fact DissOil continues to float on the surface of water even when completely soaked in oil.

Microbes within DissOil use enzymes to break the oil down into harmless components. The degradation process is activated by water – for example by soil moisture, dew or rain. After one to three weeks the work is done. The soil does not need any further treatment after cleaning.

Johan Asplund, Project Manager at Implenia Sweden, is impressed by the new cleaner. “We’re very pleased with the positive test results.” When the process is over, all that's left is pure cork – free of chemicals and other additional substances – making it a perfect alternative to conventional absorbents.