Abstract: Methods for making organic fibers for sorbing liquid hydrocarbon spills. The methods include the steps of obtaining unfiberized organic material that has been pretreated with a hydrophobic agent and fiberizing the pretreated unfiberized organic material such that the material is reduced in size to form an organic fiber particulate of a desired size. The fiberizing results in the hydrophobic agent coating all exposed surfaces of the organic fiber particulate to form a substantially hydrophobic organic fiber particulate without the addition of any additional hydrophobic agent.

Abstract: A method for removing a liquid hydrocarbon from a contaminated soil that includes the steps of disposing the contaminated soil and liquid within a vessel, disposing a hydrophobic oleophyllic sorbent upon a surface of the liquid, agitating the contaminated soil for a period of time sufficient to allow substantially all of the liquid hydrocarbon within the contaminated soil to contact the liquid, float to the surface of the liquid, and be sorbed by the hydrophobic oleophyllic sorbent, and removing the sorbent, cleaned water and cleaned soil from the vessel.

Abstract: The present invention provides a sorbent with a high pickup ratio (>30 to 1) that has environmental benefits relating to renewable resource use of waste material as primary ingredients and is biodegradable; that is suitable for use on water and on land in a wide variety of forms; that is fire retardant; that incorporates a manufacturing process resulting in a finished product of low embodied energy; and results in a sorbent that is uncommonly simple, inexpensive, and effective. The improved sorbent also provides three options for disposal when the sorbent is full of oil. The first option allows extraction of absorbed oil by simple compression that results in a 70% recovery of oil without contamination by water. The used sorbent can be reused repeatedly afterward. A second option allows a used sorbent that, although flame resistant in its unused state, can be burned as fuel to recover 100% of energy with the sorbent contributing only 1% ash.