Abstract: Apparatus for producing aerosols comprises an arrangement whereby materials to be admixed and dispersed enter a moving propellant stream at a region of decreasing velocity. In a preferred form this apparatus comprises a supply of one or more fluent materials to be dispersed, a rotatable distribution device having at least two members axially separated by a space and peripherally formed to provide a substantially annular discharge outlet for that space when the device is rotated, structure providing an annular stream of gas moving substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the distribution device and past the outlet, and one or more material feed passages between the supply and space whereby during operation material may be continually fed into the space and thrown outward into annular air stream and against a surrounding baffle having such contour as to present a DeLaval type discharge for the device.

Abstract: Methods for the elimination of hydrocarbon contamination from surfaces of the earth, such as fuel oil spills on the ocean or like water surfaces, in which at least one liberated aerosol cloud containing a combination of one or more bacterial microorganisms having the property of degrading the hydrocarbons and a culture medium therefor in particulate form is formed in the atmosphere at a substantial height, typically 50m - 1000m, above an area of hydrocarbon contamination on the surface of the earth in such position and under such conditions that the cloud may settle toward and onto that area, the microorganisms undergoing substantial growth as the cloud settles.