FAQ

What is a sorbent?

A sorbent is a material used to absorb liquids and/or gases through mechanisms of absorption and/or adsorption.

Which liquids are absorbed by Oil Sorber?

Oil Sorber can virtually be use to absorb all kinds of oils, hydrocarbons, organic solvents and products like (e.g. gasoline, cleaning agents or solvent based inks). Oil Sorber is not suitable for being used on spills of water based and highly basic products.

Do Oil Sorber products absorb water?

Oil Sorber products are not suitable for absorbing water or water-based products due to their intrinsic hydrophobicity. This characteristic of cork allows the Oil Sorber product to be used for selective oil absorption uses, when spills occur in aquatic environments or on wet floors. In such a situation, a universal absorbent (which also absorbs water) will be saturated with water and will therefore have a poor absorption efficiency of the spilled liquid.

Why Oil Sorber is environmentally friendly and sustainable?

Oil Sorber products are essentially constitute by cork, the bark of Quercus suber L.. The extraction of cork is a highly regulated activity. An adult cork oak is debarked every nine years without damaging the tree. The cork oak forests are a part of an important ecosystem, renowned by several environmental international institutions. The cork forests are a habitat of many animals, some of them, endangered. The cork oak forests are also responsible for the capture of high amounts of carbon dioxide contributing for the reduction of the greenhouse effect.

Oil Sorber is safe?

Oil Sorber was designed for being a safety tool, totally suitable for dealing with dangerous situations like the absorption of flammable products. Oil Sorber is certified by an EU notified body reporting to be suitable for product cleaning up fuel spills in ATEX areas. The granulometry of our granular products was carefully selected in order to avoid the concentration of powder in air and consequent explosive atmosphere. CorkSorb is supplied in paper bags or corrugated paper boxes in order to avoid accumulation of electrostatic energy.

Does Oil Sorber absorb the same independently of the oil?

There are some slight differences on the sorption capacity of Oil Sorber depending on the oil to be absorbed. These differences are mostly related with the density and viscosity of the oil. We are available to perform some tests with oils of our customers.

How much does Oil Sorber absorb?

Oil Sorber has an absorbent capacity that may change between 3.5 and 6.5 (l oil/kg absorbent). The absorption capacity is related with the type of cork material and the quantity of cork material present on the final product

Which are the factors that influence the cost of the spill treatments?

The cost coming from the treatment of the spills is influenced by:

Cost of the absorbent
Absorption capacity of the absorbent
Cost of the residue generated by the absorption of the spill.

A higher capacity of the products absorption will reduce the consumption of absorbent and the amount of waste generated, being a crucial factor on the final cost of the spill cleaning process.

Is it better to use Oil Sorber or a dispersant?

Oil Sorber is a sorbent that effectively eliminates the oil from the environment while the dispersant reduce the particle size of the pollutant but does not eliminated it. Using Oil Sorber the pollutants will be effectively removed from the environment for later treatment.

Is Oil Sorber non-toxic?

Oil Sorber is made of cork powder or granules. This material is extensively used for the production of stopper of bottles of wine. The product is FDA approved for contact with food products.

Why does Oil Sorber have low density?

Oil Sorber is made of cork. Cork duo to its porous structure of closed cells, cork present low density and kept it after absorption.

What is cork?

Cork is the bark of the oak tree (Quercus suber L.) which is periodically extracted from the tree, usually every 9-12 years, in order to achieve good quality cork and healthy trees. Quercus suber L., is the botanical name for a kind of slow growing, evergreen oak that flourishes only in specific regions of the Western Mediterranean region (Portugal, Spain, South of France, part of Italy, North of Africa) and some regions in China.

How is the cork oak harvest life?

A cork oak tree may have an average of 16 harvests during a life time, around 150 and 200 years. The first harvest happens after 25 years and after that every 9 years, at least.

Is the cork legally harvested and sourced from sustainably managed and accredited forests?

Oil Sorber is made of cork obtained from cork oak forests sustainably managed and fulfilling all the legal requirements. Oil Sorber contribute to a balanced cork oak forest ecosystem, habitat for a series of animal species, some of which are endangered, as the Iberian lynx, the black-winged kite, the black vulture, the imperial eagle and the black stork.

Isn’t there a shortage of cork in the world?

There is enough cork in Portugal to meet demand for the next 100 years. Under a large-scale re-forestation program funded by the EU the forests are growing by 4 per cent a year. High quality cork oak forests in North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco) are being brought into commercial production. Most importantly, the introduction of high quality technical corks is allowing much better utilisation of the cork resource.

Where is cork produced?

Cork oak forests make a substantial contribution to the economy and ecology of several Western Mediterranean countries - Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria.

What is the total production of cork?

With around 730,000 hectares, Portugal has a third of the total land under cork oak forests; these forests represent 23 per cent of the country’s forested land. Portugal accounts for over half of global cork production. There are over 2.2 million hectares of cork oak forest.

What is the total production of cork?

Where can you find cork oak forests?

Montado forests are widespread in some regions of the Mediterranean with Atlantic influence, in particular Portugal, Spain, southern France, Italy and northern Africa. There are still some montane forests in regions of China.

Why is said that cork is fire resistant?

Cork has a very high oxygen index value, resulting in high resistance to fire propagation. During combustion, because no fusion of material occurs, in particular suberin, cork main component, fire propagation is very slow. Cork is composed almost exclusively of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and therefore no toxic fumes are produced.

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