Overview
ARBOK-BLACKSAND uses thermodynamic phase-change separation to remediate oil and petroleum-product spills from water, sand, and soil — including contaminated surface and subsurface waters (lakes, rivers, seas) and their sediments. It splits the mixture into clean reusable water, dry solids (sand, soil), and recovered oil/petroleum (returned to storage or pipelines), with no chemicals, filters, membranes, or reagents.
Applications
Primary use cases: cleanup of oil-water-sand/soil mixtures; contaminated sediment treatment; spill emergencies at ports, pipelines, wells, and refineries; industrial wastewater.
Outputs/uses: clean water (industrial reuse), dry sand/soil, recovered oil.
Industries and users: oil & gas operators, port authorities, spill responders, environmental contractors.
Scale: up to 50 tons/day per unit; scalable with container sets.
Operating Principle
Thermodynamic phase-change separation processes the oil-water-solid mixture into three streams — clean water, dry solids, and recovered hydrocarbons — without chemicals or consumables. Continuous 24/7/365 operation; works in extreme climates with thermal insulation.
Limitations: proof-of-concept maturity; per-unit throughput (50 t/day); recovered-fraction offtake.
Key Parameters
Energy: <1 kWh/ton. Throughput: up to 50 tons/day (scalable). Consumables: none. Form factor: 40-ft sea container (mobile or fixed; carriage-mountable). All-climate with insulation.
Outputs: clean water (reusable), dry sand/soil, recovered oil/petroleum.
Architecture and Components
Phase-change separation unit; water condensation/collection; dry-solids extraction; oil recovery to storage/pipeline; control system. Containerized (40-ft), mobile or fixed, modular by container sets.
Advantages
Technical: cleans oil from water, sand, and soil in one process; no chemicals/filters/membranes; rapid emergency setup.
Economic: <1 kWh/ton; no consumables; recovered oil returned to value.
Environmental: no chemical use or hazardous emissions; solids and water reusable.
Strategic: mobile rapid response for spills at ports, pipelines, wells, refineries.
Integrations
Deploys at spill sites, ports, and oilfields; pairs with ARBOK oil-recovery and sediment cleanup units; recovered oil to storage/pipeline infrastructure.
Deployment & Operation
Steps: site assessment → container deployment (mobile/fixed) → operate. Rapid emergency setup; continuous, low-energy, minimal staffing.
TRL
TRL 3 (confirmed by Michael). Proof-of-concept on the thermodynamic phase-change platform. Remaining: lab/relevant-environment validation, then field pilot.
Market Potential
Oil spills and oil-contaminated soils/sediments are a persistent, regulated global problem at ports, pipelines, and oilfields. A mobile, chemical-free separator that recovers oil and reuses water/solids fits emergency-response and remediation markets.
Typical Project Economics
OPEX driven by <1 kWh/ton energy; no consumables; value from recovered oil plus avoided remediation/disposal cost. CAPEX containerized per 50 t/day unit; (per-site economics by contamination and volume).
Risk Factors
Proof-of-concept maturity — needs pilot/field validation; recovered-oil and solids offtake; per-unit throughput for large spills; emergency-procurement cycles.
Related Technologies
OILTRAP · ARBOK-Port-Sludge-Cleanup · ARBOK-VC (Vacuum Cracking) · ARBOK CleanSea