Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

A Calgary-based small to medium enterprise approached SAIT Polytechnic to engage expertise in the Industrial Water and Waste Water Laboratory to test a patented floating vertical spar booming fence system and series of mesh filtering compounds for containing oil spills. This project will also engage highly skilled personnel in the Fabrication Lab. The project will benefit the company by providing qualitative and quantitative data required by prospective customers, and enable them to commercialize their product for high-performance spill response. The overall technical goal is to test boom materials for permeability, failure, spill containment, and temperature tolerance/ tensile strength in very cold temperatures. The economic, environmental, and social costs of oil spills is substantial. The recent oil spills in Canada, the USA, and the Gulf of Mexico highlight the need to develop and bring to market effective technologies and strategies to contain and recover spilled oil. As with all emergencies, these events are unexpected, and response is often slow, allowing oil to spread. The novel hydrocarbon boom system investigated in this project will enhance the speed and effectiveness of oil spill response, reducing how much a slick can spread, thus minimizing the impact and reducing the time, effort and money needed for recovery and remediation.