Carey wrote: > Google "oil eating bacteria" there's lots of info. I don't want to post links or the spam grabber may not permit the e-mail thru in a timely fashion. < Remember a long time ago when NASA had problems with the kerosene they use in their rockets to the moon - it just disappeared, tons of it! Someone stole it from their vast tanks, and after having ruled out human thieves, they eventually associated it with the gunk they found in the bottom of the tanks: bacteria! So this bacteria, whose name I've forgotten completely - maybe NASAii?!, thrived in an environment consisting of just kerosene: no light, no air, nothing! Nowadays they add a biocide to lower the losses of kerosene, and It seems it still works! Tord *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 1:37 AM, Tord <tord_at_mindless.com> wrote: > > So this bacteria, whose name I've forgotten completely - maybe NASAii?!, > thrived in an environment consisting of just kerosene: no light, no air, > nothing! > > Two things spring to mind: a) Perhaps the bacteria do not thrive in an environment which includes salt water; and, b) The lighter molecules (naptha, etc.) probably evaporate quickly. This may include diesel and kerosine so that they aren't around long enough for the bacteria to get at for a decent meal. In a tank system there is substantially lower evaporation. I wonder if this accounts for the loss of rum in several bottles purchased ten or more years ago by my wife. I remember a teen-aged girl who had convinced her parents that their stashes of booze were "evaporating" because they weren't screwing the caps back on tightly enough. I still get a chuckle out of that. I wonder if she has teen-aged kids of her own and whether karma is doing its job. :) Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On 21/06/2010 4:48 PM, Craig Jungers wrote: > On Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 1:37 AM, Tord<tord_at_mindless.com> wrote: > > >> So this bacteria, whose name I've forgotten completely - maybe NASAii?!, >> thrived in an environment consisting of just kerosene: no light, no air, >> nothing! >> >> Two things spring to mind: >> > a) Perhaps the bacteria do not thrive in an environment which includes salt > water; and, > > b) The lighter molecules (naptha, etc.) probably evaporate quickly. This may > include diesel and kerosine so that they aren't around long enough for the > bacteria to get at for a decent meal. In a tank system there is > substantially lower evaporation. > > I wonder if this accounts for the loss of rum in several bottles purchased > ten or more years ago by my wife. I remember a teen-aged girl who had > convinced her parents that their stashes of booze were "evaporating" because > they weren't screwing the caps back on tightly enough. I still get a chuckle > out of that. I wonder if she has teen-aged kids of her own and whether karma > is doing its job. :) > > Craig Jungers > Moses Lake, WA > www.nwkayaking.net > You guys seem to be missing the obvious. Simply gather up all the oil and place it in old NASA fuel storage tanks. In the proper anaerobic environment, the bacteria will do their work and all your problems will be solved. It would save a *lot* of time and effort if they ran a pipe from the wellhead to the storage tanks, thus bypassing all that mucking about in boats (as Toad of Toad Hall would say). Doesn't BP have anybody with some common sense on their staff? Why do I have to do all the heavy lifting? I do have one serious question though: what do they do with the water they use to clean the wildlife off with? Does it simply go down the drain and back out into the Gulf? (The serious question posed to counter-point the nonsensical stuff just before. In case anyone missed the whimsy.) -- Darryl *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
After giving this issue much serious thought, it occurs that these bacteria are simply too small. What is needed are bacteria on steroids, ie, beefy guys the size of VW beetles. Then you would see the oil disappear faster than it can emerge from the well-head. What say we expose some of these bacteria to some good old-fashioned radioactivity, just like in those sci-fi movies, and then watch them go to work. There could be a problem though if they can't discern between a yummy glob of oil and say, a tasty seakayak, or heaven forbid, a jet-ski. Brad > You guys seem to be missing the obvious. Simply gather up all the oil and > place it in old NASA fuel storage tanks. In the proper anaerobic > environment, the bacteria will do their work and all your problems will be > solved. > > It would save a *lot* of time and effort if they ran a pipe from the > wellhead to the storage tanks, thus bypassing all that mucking about in > boats (as Toad of Toad Hall would say). > > Doesn't BP have anybody with some common sense on their staff? Why do I > have to do all the heavy lifting? > Darryl *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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