Tom,<br><br>I certainly agree that the use of hay/straw is not a complete solution, but it may be a worthwhile and relatively cheap bioremediation measure as a PART of the solution. My guess is that it would be most beneficial close to shore so that the oil is absorbed/adsorbed by the straw before it has a chance to contaminate the sand on the beaches and the mud and such in the estuaries.<br>
<br>As to what to do with the "oil-logged" straw? Probably nothing, the surface area of the straw will provide lots of places for microbes to colonize and consume the sequestered oil [food source] and the straw through natural biological processes. There are microbes in the water that consume oil already, but they can be much more efficient if they have a medium to grow on. Think of it as "Petri straws" rather than dishes.<br>
<br>GC<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, May 24, 2010 at 11:46 AM, Tom Freeman <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:tfreeman@intel.digichem.net">tfreeman@intel.digichem.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
<div class="im">On 05/24/2010 09:07:57 AM, Jim Popovitch wrote:<br>
> On Mon, May 24, 2010 at 08:58, Tom Freeman<br>
> <<a href="mailto:tfreeman@intel.digichem.net">tfreeman@intel.digichem.net</a>> wrote:<br>
> > One of the clearest rebuttals to a simple solution that I've seen<br>
> to<br>
> > date for virtually any situation. If we could all get in the habit<br>
> of<br>
> > checking ideas this way, we might be in better shape.<br>
> ><br>
> > OTOH, while I don't think hay is "the solution", I suspect that use<br>
> of<br>
> > hay to chase after the oil has some value, and should see some use.<br>
> > Exactly where is another problem, for another post, and possibly<br>
> > another venue.<br>
><br>
> Perhaps I didn't catch it, what were the costs/efforts associated<br>
> with<br>
> harvesting/storing/shipping/distributing the hay? Hay seems<br>
> wonderful<br>
> if it get's there on it's own. ;-)<br>
<br>
</div>Well, that and what do you do with it after it is "full" of oil. And<br>
salt water. Collect and burn? Collect and bury? Extract oil and burn<br>
hay? I doubt that the hay would be reusable at that point. And<br>
admittedly, those type issues were not addressed either by myself or<br>
the post I responded to. Quite roughly speaking, however, use of hay<br>
will result in 2 lbs of material to work with for every lbs of oil<br>
slick retrieved. Plus that material will not be especially easy to work<br>
with, since it will neither pump nor be an easily filterable solid.<br>
Again, not explicitely noted.<br>
<br>
Of course, these analyses ignore the effects of diverting a percent or<br>
three of the nation's hay supply to oil chasing, and the logistics of<br>
getting that much hay transported in the first place.<br>
<br>
What I was trying to do with my original post was to complement Quentin<br>
for actually running down some of the facts and running some estimated<br>
numbers to get at crude ballpark figures, as opposed to the usuall<br>
debate tactics of simply snearing at the idea.<br>
<br>
Ok. My bad for not expanding and expounding with greater clarity, for<br>
which I appologise. I should know better. Plus, I should do a better<br>
job of looking up and checking more of my data (sorry but I'm not going<br>
to today, I've got some oil based product (gasoline) to combust in<br>
cleaning up a back yard).<br>
<br>
I will stand by the statement that the use of hay probably has a place<br>
in the overall effort regarding the oil spill but is _not_ truely a<br>
cure regardless of how popular the idea is.<br>
<div><div></div><div class="h5"><br>
<br>
><br>
> -Jim P.<br>
> _______________________________________________<br>
> Ale mailing list<br>
> <a href="mailto:Ale@ale.org">Ale@ale.org</a><br>
> <a href="http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale" target="_blank">http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale</a><br>
> See JOBS, ANNOUNCE and SCHOOLS lists at<br>
> <a href="http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo" target="_blank">http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo</a><br>
><br>
><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
Ale mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Ale@ale.org">Ale@ale.org</a><br>
<a href="http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale" target="_blank">http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale</a><br>
See JOBS, ANNOUNCE and SCHOOLS lists at<br>
<a href="http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo" target="_blank">http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo</a><br>
</div></div></blockquote></div><br><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>