Petroleum Remediation Product (PRP): Bio-degradable Oil Reclamation

A NASA Spin-off to Protect the Environment

What is it?
Petroleum Remediation Product (PRP) is quickly becoming the world standard for oil-spill clean-up. PRP absorbs petroleum and safely lets the oil bio-degrade. PRP works in both its native, powder form or in booms or socks. Applications of Petroleum Remediation Product work both on land and water. Water application is possible because PRP, like oil, floats.

Because PRP can be used in a powder form, it is perfect for cleaning spills on land, shorelines, even driveways. Various other configurations, such as the sock, are perfect for surrounding oil spills on water, absorbing the oil, and safely bio-degrading the petroleum.

How does it work?
Petroleum Remediation Product at its basic level is a bee's wax microsphere. Natural bee's wax is processed into microscopic, hollow spheres. The spheres are impervious to water, but absorb hydrocarbons.

The bee's wax encourages naturally occurring micro-organisms to eat. The microbes feast on the bee's wax and don't stop eating until all the oil is gone, safely, naturally bio-degrading the petroleum and the PRP itself.

A special mixture of PRP and ground corncob is available for use on land or hard surfaces where there are no naturally occurring microbes. The corn provides a catalyst for the microbes.

Where did it come from?
PRP was developed when micro-encapsulation technology developed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) met with experiments carried out in orbit by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The JPL experiments proved that microspheres could encapsulate cells. MSFC orbital experiments provided the key to economically producing the spheres.

NASA developed a commercial partnership with a company that eventually became Universal Remediation, Inc. (UniRemInc) to produce PRP. Pittsburgh-based UniRemInc is currently the only producer of PRP on a commercial scale. They offer several, industry-specific solutions such as BioSok Bilge Maintenance System^TM, BioBoom^TM, WellBoom^TM, and OilBuster^TM (corn mixture).