Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 13
Claim 1
Independent Claim
100 words
A process for treating peat to provide oil-absorbing materials which are useful for collecting oil floating on the surface of water or those dispersed in water as oil particles characterized by the following steps: preparing an initial mixture by mixing peat with an alkaline earth metal basic material; partially drying said initial mixture during a first stage by heating said initial mixture for a predetermined period of time; preparing a further mixture by mixing additional said basic material with said partially dried peat; and further heating said further mixture during a second stage until said peat has the-desired moisture content.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
100 words
A process for treating peat to provide oil-absorbing materials which are useful for collecting oil floating on the surface of water or those dispersed in water as oil particles characterized by the following steps: preparing an initial mixture by mixing peat with an alkaline earth metal basic material; partially drying said initial mixture during a first stage by heating said initial mixture for a predetermined period of time; preparing a further mixture by mixing additional said basic material with said partially dried peat; and further heating said further mixture during a second stage until said peat has the-desired moisture content.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
20 words
The process of claim 1 characterized in that said alkaline earth basic material is magnesium/calcium ' hydroxide lime substitute material.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
32 words
The process of claim 2 characterized in that said magnesium/ calcium hydroxide lime substitute contains about 10% Mg and about 20% Ca to provide a CaC0 3 lime equivalent of about 95%.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
48 words
The process of any one of claims 1, 2 or,3 characterized in that said peat initially has a humification factor of 2 - 4, preferably of 3, on the Van Post scale, and has a moisture content of about 60% - 80% by weight, preferably of about 70%.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
42 words
The process of any one of claims 1 - 4 inclusive characterized in that said initial mixture is heated, during said first stage, to a maximum temperature of about 150°C. for a maximum period of about 15 minutes, preferably about 10 minutes.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
40 words
The process of any one of claims 1 - 5 inclusive characterized in that said initial mixture is heated, during said first stage, until said peat has a moisture content of about 25% - 35% by weight, preferably about 30%.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
48 words
The process of any one of claims 1 - 6 inclusive characterized in that said further mixture is heated during said second stage for a sufficient period of time at a sufficient temperature to provide a peat of a moisture content of about 5 - 10% by weight.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
44 words
The process of any one of claims 1 - 7 inclusive characterized in that the temperature of said second heating is a maximum of about 150 C., and the time of said heating is a maximum of about 15 minutes, preferably about 10 minutes.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
32 words
The process of any one of claims 1 - 8 inclusive characterized in that the ratio of peat/basic material in said initial mixture is about 1:15 to about 1:45, preferably about 1:30.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
32 words
The process of any one of claims 1 - 9 inclusive characterized in that the ratio of peat/basic material in said further mixture is about 1:10 to about 1:20, preferably about 1:15.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
48 words
A dried peat product useful for collecting oil floating on the surface of water or those dispersed in water as oil particles and having a moisture content of about 5 - about 10% whenever prepared by a process of any one of claims 1 - 10 inclusive. _
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
193 words
A method for the control of oil spills, characterized in the following steps: (a) stationing a first boat-only in the immediate area of the source of the oil spill, at the downwind direction of the wind, preferably traversing the oil spill and moving in lines parallel to the downwind direction of the wind,said boat dispersing a peat product as claimed in claim 11 over the oil spill; (b) traversing the oil spill with a second boat and a third boat, each of said second and third boats also spraying the spill with a peat product as claimed in claim 11 while the boats are travelling in a direction parallel to the downwind direction of the wind, in a criss-cross pattern until the oil spill is substantially completely covered with said peat product; (c) spreading a containment collar around the peat product-covered oil slick by means of a fourth boat and a fifth boat; and (d) harvesting the peat/oil combination from the surface by means of a mechanized oil recovery tanker skimming vessel,the said first, second and third boats each preferably being provided with peat-dispersing cannons on the forward deck and on the stern.