Oil In, Water Out: How Oil Absorbent Pads Work

One of the many services we provide here at Optima is emergency spill response. Whenever there is an oil release into the surrounding area, we are on call to jump into action and start the cleanup process ASAP.

When we respond to a spill, there are several key items we always make sure to bring with us, and one of those items is absorbent pads.

If you've ever seen an absorbent pad dropped onto oil, you know its like magic; the oil practically jumps into the material.

But why does that happen??

The pads we use are made from eight fused layers of 100% polypropylene. One of the inherent properties of polypropylene is that it is both oleophilic and hydrophobic, which means they can absorb oil while water just rolls right off them.

This allows us to clean up spills both on the ground and in the water. This also means that these pads float in water, even when they become saturated with oil!

Check out the video below from our preferred manufacturer, PIG!