Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a material recovery system which utilizes a rope of an adsorbent material arranged for floating on the surface of a liquid contaminated by a contaminating material preferentially adsorbed by the rope. The rope is in the form of a continuous loop extending between a desorption station through which the rope is advanced to remove adsorbed material and a rope-guide station or each of a plurality of rope-guide stations at which the rope is guided round guide means. Hold-off means controlled by or from the desorption station are provided for holding off the rope-guide station or each of the rope-guide stations from the desorption station by a predetermined distance without the use of an anchor.