Our aquatextiles are efficient in all types of pollution
In Diffuse pollution
Oil leaks are one of the main sources of diffuse pollution of infrastructure.
in Accidental pollution
Accidental pollution means a localised accidental spills. For example, accidental pollution can be the volume of a car engine crankcase: 4 to 6 litres.
in Huge pollution
Huge pollution spill is a massive inflow of hydrocarbons.
Diffuse pollution: oil leaks on on an international airport car park in 2020
Accidental pollution: volume of a car engine
Huge pollution: massive hydrocarbon inflow
1- Instant water permeability
The very open 3D structure of the TenCate GeoClean® aquatextile offers very high water permeability, much higher than the permeability of the surrounding soils, even sandy soils.
This excellent performance allows for instantaneous infiltration of a 100-year rainfall (65 mm/hr) or even stronger, without water retention at the surface.
Click on the video below to see the demo proving the instant water permeability and the high oil retention capacity of our TenCate GeoClean® aquatextile.
Instantaneous infiltration of a 100 year rainfall (65 mm/hour)
TenCate GeoClean® demo video
TenCate GeoClean® oil biodegrading aquatextiles manage water quality in the soil and house a natural ecosystem. This material is specified to solve the hydrocarbon pollution that infiltrates the underground and damages the water quality by polluting the aquifers. In this video, the instant water permeability and the high oil retention capacity are proved. Watch this video to see the demo.
2 - Runoff water cleaned from the diffuse pollution
Oil leaks are one of the main sources of diffuse pollution from infrastructures.
The TenCate GeoClean® aquatextile cleans runoff water by fixing hydrocarbons to its filamentous structure:
- More than 99% of hydrocarbons from the diffuse pollution are retained
- The maximum residual hydrocarbon content in the infiltrated water
is < 2 mg/l - The aquatextile remains very permeable even at its maximum oil retention capacity
Laboratory trials have been carried out to assess the oil retention for a high diffuse pollution load, about 100 times more than the average diffuse oil load from a parking area, carried by a heavy rain of T=6 months return period in Western Europe.
The infiltration structures tested include either one or two levels of TenCate GeoClean® aquatextiles.
Results show that the maximum residual hydrocarbon content in the percolating water through the whole structure is less than 2 mg/l (see testing conditions in the TenCate GeoClean® data sheet). This is a better performance than Class 1 oil separators (5 mg/l) according to EN858-1:2002.
As an example, the graph below shows the residual hydrocarbons concentration into the water (blue line) after percolation through the infiltrating structure made of a permeable pavement and 1 layer of TenCate GeoClean® Origin aquatextile. The 7 polluted runoff events are simulated by supplying successively 7 loads of 20 ml oil/m² each under a 13 mm/hr rainfall for 1 hour (orange bars).
RESIDUAL HYDROCARBON CONTENT IN THE INFILTRATED WATER < 2 mg/l
Residual oil content into water percolating through the permeable pavement system with 1 layer of TenCate GeoClean® Origin
The aquatextiles remains very permeable even at their maximum oil retention capacity, (99% of the inlet oil is retained - values given in the data sheet).
3 - Oil biodegradation systematically boosted
Biological oil degradation involves a variety of native microorganisms whose activity depends on food availability and surrounding living conditions.
TenCate GeoClean® is an aquatextile that offers an optimum environment for the fast development of an ecosystem that effectively degrades hydrocarbons.
Oil drop (at the centre) surrounded by oil degrading bacteria (purple dots)
Oil biodegrading fungi at the surface of the aquatextile filaments
Oil biodegradation speed with TenCate GeoClean® Origin
Due to the contribution of the natural growth activator which provides an optimal biotope and boosts the development of the oil biodegrading microorganisms, the measurement of the biodegradation speed of an oil load trapped on the oleophilic filaments of the TenCate GeoClean® Origin aquatextile shows a fast increase of the biodegradation speed to around 2.3 ml/m²/week about 10 weeks after the experiment started (see figure).
This corresponds to an annual rate of 120 ml oil/m²/year, which is about 10 times the average diffuse oil load from car parks.
This process works over time. However, the natural growth activator that is available at the surface of the TenCate GeoClean® filaments speeds up oil biodegradation and self-regulates according to the quantity of trapped hydrocarbons.
When the oil load in the aquatextile increases, the biodegradation rate also increases.
This prevents the structure from becoming saturated with oil.
No matter the conditions, the high oil storage capacity of the TenCate GeoClean® aquatextile buffers the seasonal variations in biodegradation.
The microbiota growth activator remains available over time as it is fed back into the biosystem for the successive generations, building a kind of perpetual motion of supply.
It is therefore long-lasting and maintenance free.
4 - Barrier to oil spill in the event of an accident
Accidental pollution means a localised accidental spills. For example, accidental pollution can be the volume of a car engine crankcase: 4 to 6 litres.
Thanks to its two-layer structure, the TenCate GeoClean® aquatextile is the safe solution to avoid hydrocarbon pollution in the soil. The white layer is involved for additional oil retention in the case of accidental spill.
Laboratory trials have been carried out to assess the maximum oil retention capacity of the infiltration structure with either one or two levels of TenCate GeoClean® aquatextiles.
ACCIDENTAL OIL SPILLS
As an example, the graph beside shows that one layer of TenCate GeoClean® Pure offers additional oil retention safety in case of accidental and localised oil spill. The permeable structure was subjected to 8 spot loads of 58 ml/m² (orange bars) each combined with an extreme rainstorm of 65 mm/hr (Return period T=100 years in Western Europe). More than 99 % of a 0.4 l/m² of oil spill is trapped in the permeable structure.
The aquatextile remains very permeable even at this maximum oil retention capacity.
Huge pollution is a massive inflow of hydrocarbons.
TenCate GeoClean® also acts as a temporary barrier to huge oil spills and slows down the pollution infiltration. This prevents massive oil quantities to infiltrate and to pollute the ground in depth, thus saving time for the security road services to intervene and clean the polluted surface.
The benefits of TenCate GeoClean® aquatextile
TenCate GeoClean® is a range of 3 aquatextiles that aim to one key essential function: managing water quality in the soil.
- High permeability: >10-² m/s
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Effective oil retention:
- Highly effective removal of the diffuse hydrocarbons loads from the runoff water: residual oil concentration into water (< 2mg/l)
- Buffer storage in the event of an accident
- Oil retention (> 99%) both in diffuse and accidental conditions
- Cleans water as soon as the aquatextile is installed in the infiltration structure
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A durable, stand-alone and maintenance-free system
- Systematic and active oil biodegradation
- Self-regulates according to the quantity of trapped hydrocarbons
- Systematic and active oil biodegradation
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An ecological and economical solution
- Subsoil and groundwater protection
- Natural biological functioning using the native microbiota
- Economical solution via local infiltration
- Quick and easy to install
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Adjusted design to various needs and applications
- A product range of 3 aquatextiles with increased characteristics
- 1 or 2 aquatextile positions according to the required performance
Any questions?
Do you need support on a project or need technical information about our active oil-depolluting aquatextile?
We are at your disposal and we are committed to answering you as soon as possible.