When one thinks of NASA, one thinks of High Tech. NASA, we are pleased to say, has deemed SorbWeb™Plus to be their secondary oil containment system for the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Through EG&G, a URS subsidiary, we have in December of 2010 installed the first SorbWeb™Plus system for secondary oil containment of one of their transformers.

We are specified as being the secondary oil containment system for NASA at Cape Kennedy and will in 2011 be installing many more systems.

SorbWeb™Plus for all your hydro-carbon containment needs, drains water and retains oil; maintenance free; installed easily and quickly; provides fire suppression; life expectancy exceeds equipment; suitable for new or existing installations.

We can see that this is a sensitive area where there is a water storm pond adjacent to the substation.

It is a perfect site for Albarrie’s SorbWebTM Plus System , which will not allow any oil to escape or 0 parts per million in the event of a failure.

Here we see how the system only held water and didn’t have the available volume for the transformer oil in the event of a catastrophic failure.

The depth of this containment was approximately 40” or 1.0m which was also close to the water table. The design was to excavate only a portion of the existing stone until we achieved the proper volume required. An impermeable liner would be installed and it would drain the water out of the containment with the use of wick drains. The Oilmat and other SorbWeb layers would follow on top.

The area is graded and leveled.

The existing liner is cut at the new depth and removed.

Under the transformer........

was the toughest part!

The entire area is covered with a 4” layer of sand which will provide a firm solid base over the existing large stones and we can grade the sand so the wick drains will have enough slope.

The exit point for the wick drain is drilled through the concrete wall.

The impermeable liner is strapped to the perimeter and the transformer piers, the floor is covered with a double layer and taped.

The edge is sealed with silicone caulking so that the water will not get in behind the material and is directed where we want it to go.

The entire floor is then covered with 2” of sand to aid in the drainage process. Note: wick drain is not in this picture at this point yet.

The wick drain is laid down in the center, the sand was not only graded from the back of the containment to the outlet but also from the concrete walls to the center. This will ensure that there will be no standing water.

All the wick drains are connected together using the product connectors. Here we see a ‘Y’ with the unused ends taped off to prevent any sand from entering the system.

The wick drain then exits the containment through the predrilled hole in the concrete wall.

The perimeter and transformer piers are then strapped again with the impermeable liner using a smaller 2’ strip folded in half. The bottom side of the liner is double beaded with silicone caulking and the Oilmat is laid down on top of that.

A bead of silicone is beaded along the edge of the Oilmat and blended into the edge using a piece of cardboard. This will seal the open edge of the Oilmat as well as seal it to the liner.

The top side of the Oilmat is double beaded and loose copolymer is sprinkled along the edge. The impermeable liner is then folded down and glued to the Oilmat.

Next we lay down the adsorbent layer that will glue to the silicone beads that are pictured above.

A bead of silicone is then placed along the liner edge and will complete the total of 6 lines of silicone beads that oil must get past to escape the system.

The final bead is then placed along the strapped liner connection point, again preventing any liquid from migrating in behind the system.

Loose copolymer is sprinkled along the edge.

The area is covered with a woven geotextile which is intended to separate the system from the fire quenching stone and will transfer any liquid laterally.

The containment is then filled with the required fire quenching stone which in this case is a washed crush limestone. Here we see them using a stone slinger which can be a time saving process.

The stone is graded and leveled to the designed height.

Doesn't the above picture look better than this one

We then started on the wick drain on the outside of the containment with a trench dug

The trench exits the fence and turns north towards the pond. It continues until we achieve a respectable 1% slope. Wick drains require a minimum 0.5% slope.

The trench is lined with a non woven geotextile…..

and the wick drain is laid in the trench.

The wick drain and trench is then filled with a minimum 12” cover of washed stone.

Then it is wrapped in the non woven geotextile.

At the end of the wick drain we dug a hole to create a gravel sump.

Again we lay in more non woven geotextile and fill it with the washed stone. This will maintain that the end of the wick drain will stay clear of any foreign debris or even small animals migrating into the system.

The stone is wrapped with the non woven and backfilled with more stone. The rest of the trench is backfilled with native material.

The SorbWeb TM Plus installation is now complete.

If you have any questions concerning the installation of this product please contact the undersigned.

Prepared by: Mike Dowds
Albarrie Geocomposites

We start with the excavation and also build side slopes around the transformer at a 1:1 slope. This is done when the transformer pads are not as deep as the containment and we don’t want undercutting or erosion under the pad to occur.

We strap all the transformer pads with the impermeable liner by drilling through the plastic straps and hammering in a concrete anchor.

A 2”(50mm) base sand layer is placed on the floor of the containment and the drainage(wick drains) are laid out. The sand will aide in the drainage process.

The wick drains are typically arranged in central areas with equal distances from the side slopes.

Several types of connections are used with the wick drains, here we see a versatile connector that can be used as a ‘Y’ or a 90. The unused openings are taped over.

The lines are connected together and brought to an area where it exits the containment site. A minimum slope of 0.5% must be maintained for the system to properly drain.

The wick drains are then backfilled with the sand.

We excavated through the bank to an existing gravel swale where the wick drains will drain. A minimum width of 18” (0.45m) is required.

A non woven geotextile is placed in the trench to prevent backfill from migrating into the system and the wick drain is laid in.

A washed crush stone is placed over the wickdrains. A minimum depth of 12”(0.30m) of stone is required.

The entire trench is filled with the washed stone.

The non woven geotextile is then folded over and the area can be backfilled with native material.

The end portion of the wick drain is cleared of any stone that would inhibit the water flow.

Here is the completed drainage trench.

We can now start with the containment by laying down non woven geotextile on the banks.

This is followed by the impermeable liner.

The transformer pads are strapped with the impermeable liner.

Non woven geotextile is also placed on the interior slopes around the transformer pad.

The Oilmat is then glued down with 2 beads of silicone sealant.

The Oilmat edge is also silicone sealed.

The Oilmat edge is then sprinkled with loose copolymer(white powder) and is double beaded on the top side with the silicone sealant.

The top layer of impermeable liner is then folded down and glued to the Oilmat. An extra bead of silicone sealant is placed along the edge and then covered with the loose copolymer again.

Once all the Oilmat is glued in place the adsorbent layer is placed.

Here we see the interior slope of the transformer pad wrapped with the impermeable liner.

The adsorbent layer is followed by a woven geotextile fabric.

Then a 2” (50mm) layer of sand is placed.

Another woven geotextile fabric is placed over the sand layer. (picture from another site)

In the case of conduits adjacent to the transformer pads we followed these steps. Strap up tight on either side of the conduits. Fill the hole with sand just below the level of the strapping.

Fill the area with loose copolymer.

Neatly cut a piece of Oilmat to fit around the conduits

Silicone seal around the contact points with the wall, conduits, impermeable liner and the Oilmat.

Neatly cut a piece of impermeable liner to fit around the conduits and overtop of the liner that is already in place.

Finally silicone seal and tape all edges and open areas.

The containment is then filled with the designed required stone, in this case a minimum ¾” washed crush.

The containment is only filled up to a point below the strapping. We want to see if there is any pulling of the strapping off the walls. We then can do a final silicone bead along the impermeable liner attachment.

We can also seal any remaining small conduits.

The containment is then filled to the design height with the rest of the stone and leveled off. As you can see it will stand up to a considerable amount of weight.

Here is the finished completed graded site and the entire containment system is non intrusive or even visible. It will protect the environment in the event of a catastrophic transformer failure for many years with no maintenance whatsoever.

Prepared by: Michael J Dowds

Prepared by:

Michael J Dowds
of Albarrie Geocomposites Ltd.
Civil Engineering Technologist

T- (705) 737-0551
F- (705) 733-5053

www.sorbwebplus.com
www.albarrie.com

This is a unique product with an easy installation process.

Below is a typical cross section of the Oil Boom consisting of a simple trench and backfilled clear stone.

First the existing site gravel is shoveled to the side.

A 4” deep trench is dug into the existing earth.

The Oil boom is then placed in this trench.

The existing earth that was removed is placed back in the 4” trench on either side of the Oil Boom and compacted.

The Oil Boom is then backfilled on both sides with the existing stone that was removed.

Additional clear stone may be required to achieve the desirable slope. A 1:1 slope is the minimum.

In the cases where the soil is unstable 1 x 2 stakes are used. The Oil Boom is again placed in the excavated trench and stakes are installed at a separation distance that is required. The stakes must be flush with the top of the Oil Boom.

The Oil Boom is then screwed to the stakes.

The Oil Boom is then backfilled as previously done with the existing earth and then the clear stone.

Again additional clear stone may be required to achieve the desirable slope. A 1:1 slope is the minimum.

If you have any questions concerning the installation of this product please contact the undersigned.

Prepared by: Mike Dowds
Albarrie Geocomposites

However, there are cases where businesses are not aware of how geosynthetics should be used and will offer the wrong solution. By offering the wrong solution more damage is caused that will affect the performance of the geosynthetic.

A company is offering a cheap solution for oil containment in the Electrical Industry. As the electrical industry sees secondary oil containment as an expense which they do not have any return they are often buying into this cheap solution.

They are offering a Geosynthetic Clay Liner [GCL] which would be deployed around the transformer pad. Typically the GCL is deployed on the surface of the soils and 4 to 6 inches of stone is placed on top of the GCL. The problem with this is one that 4 to 6 inches of stone will not give the GCL enough confining stress to become a hydraulic barrier. Typically GCL’s are buried under at least 3 feet of soil. Three feet of soil typically equates to a confining stress of 2 psi. This is the confining stress that all GCLs are tested at to assure their performance as a barrier.

Also at 4” to 6” of cover stone above the GCL the GCL will not remain hydrated. The GCL will go through periods of hydration and dehydration. It is a well known fact that should the GCL go through periods of hydration and dehydration that the sodium bentonite that is within the GCL will undertake an ionic exchange and become calcium bentonite. Calcium bentonite does not have the high swelling characteristics that sodium bentonite has. So as the clay desiccates through periods of hydration and dehydration, these will not heal and the GCL is no longer a barrier.

We were asked to quote on a Utility’s new substation in Wisconsin. On examination of the subsoil we noted that the soils were of fat clays, which would not accept infiltration of water. It was our solution that underneath our system we would put in drainage to move the water from the containment system that we had proposed.

The following is a solution that the client had chosen due to cost. The system was extremely cheap in comparison to the system which we offered.

On the surface of the soil, which was deemed already to be impermeable a GCL was laid. The GCL was then to be covered with 6” of stone. See picture number one.

From this design we can immediately see the first practice of deployment that is incorrect. GCLs when they have a confining stress of 2psi [3 feet of cover soil] or less should be overlapped and loose bentonite augmented in-between the seams. The purpose of this is to assure that there would be no leakage from the seams. There has been no overlapping of the seams in the deployment of the GCLs.

Around the perimeter of this containment area you will note that there is a wooden border. This wooden border is meant to hold in place, until the area is filled with stone a mat which contains co-polymer. In construction of containment systems in is normally not a practice to have a vertical wall of a geotextile. This vertical wall will not remain vertical as frost heaves rain and snow melt will move the vertical fabric. I always use the example of a farmer’s field after winter where rocks which were not apparent in the fall, are now on the surface. This is due to the ground heaving after frost. As this fabric is not attached to anything this fabric will not remain in a vertical position.

It is common practice when forming a wall with geosynthetics that the wall is sloped, typically at a minimum of 1:1 and that the geosynthetic is trenched into the soils. This allows the geosynthetic to float with movement of soils.

As we stated early, we had determined that the soils were impermeable and that we needed to install a drainage system to move the water off site.

The following picture was taken after a rainstorm.

The Cheap system did not take into account that the soils were impermeable.

Also, the GCL which is now deployed has become prematurely hydrated. Due to this factor the GCL should now be replaced, which it was not. Typically, there is not a problem with a GCL that has no confining stress becomes prematurely hydrated. The issue is now that the GCL must fully dry out before any further action is taken. Also when wet there cannot be any traffic on the GCL, as walking on a GCL will extrude the hydrated bentonite.

If the contractor was experienced in the geosynthetic that he was deploying, he would know that once all the water was removed off site that the GCL needed to be replaced. However, the GCL was walked upon and remained on site.

Sadly this cheap system using the wrong geosynthetics in the wrong application and not taking note of the onsite soil conditions is not offering any containment solution to the customer-

Sometimes, doing nothing is better than spending money on a poorly designed system.

About Us

Kinectrics Inc. is a science/engineering company located in Toronto, Ontario that provides solutions to technical challenges in environmental technologies, generation (nuclear, hydro and fossil), distribution and industrial energy services. Kinectrics developed the SorbWeb™ Plus SOC (secondary oil containment system) technology and has a partnership with Albarrie to distribute the technology and manufacture the oil mat. Albarrie Canada located in Barrie, Ontario is a textile company that specializes in the manufacture of geosynthetics, technical fabrics, environmental services and process control (aluminum extrusion).

SorbWeb™ Plus SOC (secondary oil containment system) Features

Kinectrics’ SorbWeb™ Plus system was developed for secondary oil spill containment (SOC) around electrical transformers for electric utilities. SorbWeb™ Plus SOC seals only on coming in contact with oil in the containment area. Until the system seals (after contacting oil), it allows water from rain/seawater to pass through its “smart” barrier layers without accumulating. When oil contacts the oil mat, it becomes impermeable to both water and oil to contain the spill.

In the system presented, the oil mat is modified from its typical application. The oil mat will be used to trap and contain oil for clean up, but will allow seawater and rain water to pass. The copolymer in the oil mat will react with the oil to form a rubbery oil-impermeable layer. This rubbery mat prevents oil from contaminating protected beach areas. Suspending the oil mat off the oil booms forces the oil within the water column to the surface for collection. The copolymer is not released into the environment.

SorbWeb™ Plus has been in use since 1996 at several sites in Canada. Successful containment of a 4,000-litre spill was achieved following an accident at a site located along the Don River in Toronto (SorbWeb™ Plus installation had been in continuous service for 2 years prior to the incident). Bruce Power installed a SorbWeb™ Plus SOC in 2005/2006 to protect against a potential spill of 3,200,000 L of oil (catastrophic failure of transformers/capacitors).

There are well over 300 installations of SorbWeb™ Plus throughout North America protecting millions of gallons of oil from reaching the environment. Sorbweb™ Plus has been installed outside of North America in countries such as Sweden, as it has been proven to be a viable system for the containment of hydro-carbons.

BP Oil Spill Proposal:

Option 1

This option proposes laying SorbWeb™ Plus in a trench and along the beach leading up to the trench. The wave action will push oily water into the trench where it will be trapped by the oil mat. Vacuum trucks on the beach can vacuum up the oily water and remove to a disposal facility.

Option 2

This option proposes suspending SorbWeb™ Plus from existing oil booms. The oil boom is only capable of trapping oil that has risen to the surface. However, this oil is leaking from the bottom up and therefore is potentially escaping underneath the oil boom. Suspending the oil mat off the oil boom forces the oil within the water column to the surface for collection. Hanging SorbWeb™ Plus helps to intercept the oil flow path at a much deeper depth and would prevent a more significant amount of oil from reaching land.

Option 3

This option proposes using oil booms to direct the flow of oil onto SorbWeb™ Plus installed on an area of the beach. Vacuum trucks on the beach can vacuum up the oily water and remove to a disposal facility (similar to Option 1).

Option 4

Using the mat create a fence along the shoreline, allowing water to pass, however the mat would be a barrier to any hydrocarbon. This would protect any oil from entering the shore or marsh areas. The mat would be staked at intervals along the width. The mat would be placed such that it would function with low and high tides.

Typically with age the older storage tanks have developed leaks.  The Independent cannot afford the hundreds of thousands of dollars to replace the gasoline tanks and the hundreds of thousands of dollars to remediate the soils.  When gasoline or diesel fuel has seeped into the soil all the soil that has been contaminated with these hydro carbons must be taken out and re mediated. It is not unheard of for these remediation costs to escalate to millions of dollars.

So fuel is today retailed to us by the large conglomerate, which can afford the costs associated with these remediation’s  and of course, pass this cost onto us the consumer.

Newer tanks that are buried are double walled or fibreglass lined, lasting much longer than the old single wall tank. However, over time these tanks will also fail.  There is also the consumer who spills fuel when refuelling – allowing that fuel to seep into the ground. Even though it may be spilled on concrete, concrete is porous and I have yet to see a gas station where the concrete surface has been sealed.  The fuel will migrate off of the concrete and enter the soil.

The same applies to above ground storage tanks [ASTs]. There are many above ground fuel tanks used for commercial purposes, whether it is construction, farming or the military. These refuelling tanks are typically built on a concrete slab.  However around that slab is just gravel on top of soil.

Spills occur when refuelling, no matter how careful one might be. The fuel typically will travel from the concrete to the soils. These tanks can also fail or a hose break, or another external part fail, resulting in more than just a little spill. The entire contents of the tank can be lost and the fuel enters the soil.

Now the cost not only becomes the replacement of the hose, external part or tank, but the costly job of removal all the soil that has been contaminated by the fuel and having all that soil remediated. The costs maybe not be in the millions as they are with gas stations, but one can easily be seeing a bill in the one hundred thousand dollar range, depending on the volume of the fuel that has made its way into the soils.

We offer a solution, a simple solution that can be installed by any contractor. Our solution does not require any maintenance once installed, there are not any pumps to remove rain water or snow melt. It allows water to pass through the system into the subsoil, however when hydro carbons come in contact with the system, it will seal and contain all the hydro carbons.

The cost to install the system, depending on the volume of the AST can be as low as few thousand dollars.

The solution is a lot less expensive as compared to a few hundred thousand dollars to remediate.

Above Ground Storage Tanks

Center Point Substation - Lansdale, Pennsylvania

Center Point Substation - Lansdale, Pennsylvania

This is the spare transformer that didn’t have any containment walls and therefore was not ready for our installation yet.

Here the grounding grid is being installed before the SorbWeb system is installed.

The base 2” layer of sand is placed over the grounding grid. As you can see the front wall was not installed for ease of entering all 3 containments. The plan was to install the SorbWeb system up as close to the proposed wall then build the wall and return to tie everything together.

We started with the installation of the impermeable liner along the perimeter walls.

Next came strapping the impermeable liner to the transformer pad.

All grounding wires were secured to the pads with brackets which will prevent any movement that would disturb or damage the impermeable liner.

The strapping is anchored to the pad as close to the grounding wire as possible.

The first piece of Oilmat is lifted into place and rolled out.

The Oilmat is rolled back one edge at a time and the impermeable liner is swept.

The impermeable liner is prepared with 2 silicone beads.

A bead of silicone is placed along the edge of the Oilmat and the impermeable liner and blended to form a good seal. Then 2 more beads are placed on top of the Oilmat.

The impermeable liner is folded down and laid on top of the silicone beads then a final bead of silicone is run down the edge with the Oilmat. The Oilmat is now completed in this area.

We sprinkle loose copolymer along the edge as an added protection.

When we have 2 layers of Oilmat coming together we make sure we have at least an overlap of 6” and glue it together with the standard 2 silicone beads as well as the bead along the edge and finally the loose copolymer sprinkled over the joint.

In front of all 3 transformers were 3 – 5” conduits.The procedure for sealing them are as follows: 1) Sprinkle loose copolymer on the ground around the conduits.

2) Neatly cut and fit the Oilmat around the conduits. You must be patient and take your time. Glue the Oilmat to the impermeable liner in behind the conduit.

3) Silicone all joints and areas around the conduits.

4) Place 2 beads of silicone on the Oilmat along the back of the conduits and then fold the upper layer of impermeable liner down and finish with the final bead along the edge.

5) Then, do it all over again with a scrap piece of Oilmat. Neatly cut and fit this time with the open cuts facing out. Glue the Oilmat down to the other Oilmat.

6) Silicone all joints and areas around the conduits.

7) Sprinkle loose copolymer over the entire area.

We can now go ahead with the rest of the SorbWebTM Plus System starting with the adsorbent layer.

The woven geotextile is laid out over the adsorbent layer with shovels full of sand to hold it in place.

The 2” sand layer is placed over the woven geotextile.

Another layer of woven geotextile then covers the layer of sand. This process was repeated until all 3 containments were at this stage. Unfortunately the fire quenching stone was not available to be placed at this time.

Typically when applying the final bead along the concrete walls and transformer pads we like to wait until the stone is placed at least a certain amount up the wall to ensure there is no pulling or separation of the strapping. But in this case the height was only 16” and we had lots of slack in the impermeable liner. Nonetheless the foreman was advised to keep watch as the stone was placed.

Here we have how the grounding wires look when completed and all sealed.

And here is a single conduit that was easily sealed with silicone because we get the strapping in tight behind the conduit.

This ends this portion of the installment, I will be requested to return in the future to tie the open ends together and complete the spare transformer containment .

Stay tuned…..

Prepared by: Michael J Dowds
Albarrie Geocomposites Ltd.
Civil Engineering Technologist

The site was a challenge in that the soil was a dense impermeable clay with nowhere to drain the water.

It was therefore engineered to excavate a designed size pit and line it with non woven geotextile and fill it with washed crush stone and drain the water to it using 6” wick drains.

Here we place wick drains covering as much area as possible.

The wick drains must have a minimum slope of 0.5% for proper drainage and are covered with washed crush stone.

The drains come together and drain to the pit making sure we are at a minimum slope to arrive at the top of the pit. From the ‘Y’ to the pit, is actually 2 drains on top of one another. Any unused openings are taped off.

In cases where we find rough surfaces on the concrete……

….. we will wrap it with non woven geotextile. This prevents it from rubbing or protruding the impermeable liner.

All the pads and intrusions have been strapped and the base layer of sand is placed.

The banks are lined with the non woven geotextile and impermeable liner and then the Oilmat is silicone/glued in place.

The upper layer of the impermeable liner is pulled down and is siliconed/glued to the Oilmat.

All the intrusions were neatly wrapped using tape and silicone glue.

The Oilmat is carefully cut to allow any grounding wires to protrude. The area is then additionally protected with another small piece of Oilmat and glued in place.

Here we have conduits that are strapped to the concrete pad. The impermeable liner is strapped to either side and the opening filled with copolymer (white powder).

A piece of Oilmat is cut to fit the opening.

The edges are silicone/glued to the conduit and the impermeable liner.

A piece of impermeable linner is cut to fit the opening.

Finally all the edges are silicone/glued to complete an impenetrable seal.

Note: On the Sunday, it rained all day making a mess, but both containments were dry as the wick drains did their job and drained everything to the holding pit where it will eventually drain out.

The adsorbent layer is placed….

…..followed by a layer of woven geotextile.

A final bead of silicone/glue along the impermeable  strapping edge finishes the containment for a complete seal ensuring no containments get behind the liner.

The entire containment is then filled with design fire quenching stone and raked out ensuring all material is covered.  (Picture unavailable)

Prepared by: M. Dowds
Albarrie Geocomposites Ltd.

Upon arrival the excavation had not begun which gave myself the opportunity to help construct a containment complete from start to finish.

Since the containment depth was 24” the excavation went quickly and was completed in a matter of hours.

The drainage lines were laid out in central locations of the containment and was attached with various types of connectors. Here we see a Y.

The drainage is placed in the base 2” layer of sand. Here we see a cross with the unused openings taped over.

The lines are connected together and brought to an area where it exits the containment site. A minimum slope of 0.5% must be maintained for the system to properly drain.

In this case the lines joined together and entered an existing storm line. The drainage system is then buried with sand.

All grounding wires were secured to the pads with anchors which will prevent any movement and disturb or damage the impermeable liner later to be installed around the wire.

The non woven fabric is placed on the banks and followed by the impermeable liner.

The impermeable liner is also strapped to the transformer pad.

Here we had a situation where the transformer pad was only 18” from another pad. When this happens we grade the ground so that there will be positive drainage running out the ends of the pads.

We strap both sides as low as possible with the impermeable liner.

Impermeable liner is folded over, silicone and taped and  then a final bead of silicone is run down the joint with the concrete.

The Oilmat can now be glued to the first layer of impermeable liner.

The second layer of impermeable liner is then folded down and glued to the top side of the Oilmat.

All joints are covered with the loose copolymer (white powder).

The adsorbent layer is laid out.

The woven geotextile is placed over top of the adsorbent layer. No glue or tape is required.

A 2” layer of sand is placed (no picture) followed by another woven geotextile layer.

The containment is filled with the fire quenching stone.

As the stone gets filled around the transformer pad we check to see that there is no separation of the strapping from the wall. Only then do we run the final silicone bead along the liner and concrete wall addressing the grounding wires at the same time.

We also seal any wires/conduit that protrude the transformer pad.

The containment is continued to be filled with fire quenching stone maintaining a minimum of 2” cover over all material that has been installed and then graded level.

Here is a completed SorbWebTM Plus System that can’t even be seen but we know it’s there to protect the site for years to come with no maintenance at all.