Abstract: This invention comprises an apparatus or mechanism and a method of using it to recover petroleum from a floating slick or spill by means of absorbing the petroleum in powder particles principally comprising a reaction product of polyurethane, a catalyst, and a strong cationic polymer comprising an agent which produces a foam product that has a strong affinity for combining physically with petroleum resembling a magnetic attraction between the same. The reaction product is formed into desired sizes of elongated block-like shapes which are fed to a shredding assembly of saw blades that reduce the solid shapes into irregularly-shaped powder particles that are capable of being used in at least two ways to attract and adsorb petroleum by bonding. One way is to employ a porous boom of substantial diameter and length that is used to at least partially enclose a predetermined area of the slick or spill, the particle content of the boom absorbing adjacent petroleum.

Abstract: This invention comprises an apparatus and a method of using it to recover petroleum from a spill or the like floating, for example, on a body of water. Powder particles which have a strong affinity for combining physically with petroleum are adapted either to be sprayed upon the spill to adsorb it or surround the floating particles with a boom for movement to apparatus including a centrifuge operated at high speeds to separate the petroleum from the particles and thereby recover the same. The preferred apparatus also includes a porous boom containing such particles and surrounding a slick with said boom which floats on the body of water on which the spill is disposed and, with the aid of tugboats or the like, the boom adsorbs petroleum and the tugboats move the boom to discharge mechanism. The apparatus also includes devices operable to remove adsorbed particles from the boom and recover the petroleum from the particles by centrifugal action as stated above.