A cotton-based oil absorbent wipe has proven its oil absorption capability in a thermal energy plant.
Following a minor oil spill in a National Thermal Energy Corporation (NTEC) in Tamilnadu, India on November 2, Nambi Srinivasan, vice president of marketing for WellGro United in Chennai, India, put the Towelie wipe to use, demonstrating its effectiveness in oil adsorption.
“We immediately responded to the call to do a demo on Saturday, and the Towelie wipe instantaneously absorbed heavy furnace oil and light crude oil,” stated Srinivasan.
Towelie evolved from a concept on cotton-based specialty textile uses at Texas Tech University, and the commercial product was developed out of the INDO-United States collaboration. Lubbock-based E Innovate, LLC markets the product globally for oil spill remediation in the oil, natural gas, automobile and manufacturing sectors.
“Towelie has been widely accepted by companies in the oil and gas, auto mechanics, manufacturing and marine industries who care about reducing their impact on the environment,” stated Ronald Kendall, Jr., president of E Innovate, LLC.
The recent successful field trial at the NTEC plant in India shows that the cotton-based wipe is now making headway into multiple sectors such as energy and manufacturing. Davis Wire, LLC in Irwindale, CA, is now using Towelie to clean-up oil spills during the manufacturing of products like metal fences, which has enhanced production efficiency while reducing plastic wastes.
The INDO-United States’ partnership has paved the way for a sustainable product to protect the environment, enhance manufacturing and save human lives.
“There is an unparalleled ease to the INDO-USA collaboration when it comes to bringing affordable and innovative textile products to market,” added Kendall, Jr.
Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar is a professor in the Department of Environmental Toxicology and The Institute of Environmental and Human Health at Texas Tech University