DoD Sustainable Products Center

“Materials formulated for use in the cleanup and bioremediation of oil and chemical spills, the disposal of liquid materials, or the prevention of leakage or leaching in maintenance applications, shop floors, and fuel storage areas.”

The BioPreferred Program established a minimum biobased content of 89 percent for sorbents.

Sorbents used for oil and solvent clean-up or animal bedding have also been designated for Federal procurement preference under the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Comprehensive Procurement Guidelines (CPG).  The accompanying Recovered Material Advisory Notice (RMAN) established various minimum recycled content levels based on material type.

Whereas most traditional sorbents utilize non-renewable resources such as mined clay or polypropylene (derived from fossil fuels), biobased sorbents utilize renewable plant resources.  Unlike most clay sorbents, they do not pose a risk of silicosis from long-term exposure.

The biobased sorbent products participating in this demonstration meet both the biobased and recycled content requirements above.  Before these biobased products are utilized by the Military Departments and DoD Components, their performance must be proven to meet DoD requirements.

Demonstration Products*

The following biobased products were demonstrated:

• Nature’s Broom Absorbent Loose by Delta Absorbents of America
• Delta Absorbents Absorbent Dry Sweep Granular by Delta Absorbents of America
• Delta Absorbents Absorbent Pillow and Absorbent Containment Case by Delta Absorbents of America
• Delta Absorbents Oil Only Absorbent Pads by Delta Absorbents of America
• Delta Absorbents Universal Absorbent Pads by Delta Absorbents of America
• Nature’s Broom Absorbent Sock by Delta Absorbents of America
• Delta Absorbents Armorer Mat with Recycled Content Biobased Pad by Delta Absorbents of America

*Mention of or referral to commercial products, services, and manufacturers herein is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by, nor the official policy or position of, the Department of Defense (DoD), any of its Components, or the U.S. Government.

Demonstration Sites

Field demonstrations of these products were performed at the following DoD installations and co-located federal facilities to evaluate their performance in Military operational environments and to raise awareness of biobased product availability:

• Anniston Army Depot (ANAD)
• Redstone Arsenal
• Fort Moore
• Edwards Air Force Base
• Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM)
• Fort Irwin/National Training Center
• Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) Twentynine Palms
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Tactical Emergency Vehicle Operations Center (TEVOC), Quantico
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Armstrong Flight Research Center

Demonstration Details

A biobased sorbent demonstration plan was developed to outline the demonstration activities to be performed, identify site performance requirements and the key performance criteria, as well as select the products to be evaluated. Installation personnel were provided a supply of the products for use in their operations and asked to provide feedback on the product performance. Table 1 contains the key performance criteria that the DoD stakeholders established to evaluate and validate that the biobased sorbents met the participants’ requirements.

Table 1: Demonstration Performance Criteria

Criteria	Parameters
Sorbent Performance	Sorbent absorption time Remaining spill residue after sorbent use Quantity of sorbent required per application
Sorbent Ease of Use	Sorbent ease of application Sorbent ease of cleanup Overall user satisfaction

Demonstration Results

The participating end user activities within the listed installations found the biobased sorbent products to be acceptable alternatives to their currently used sorbent products (typically clay-based sorbents and polypropylene pads). The demonstrated sorbents met the identified key performance criteria as follows:

• The demonstrated biobased sorbents exhibited comparable or faster absorption times than the baseline sorbent products.
• The remaining spill residue after using the demonstrated biobased sorbents was comparable or less than the remaining residue after using the baseline sorbent products.
• The amount of demonstrated biobased sorbents required per application was comparable or less than the required amount of baseline sorbent products.
• The ease of application of the demonstrated biobased sorbents was comparable or better than the ease of application of the baseline sorbent products.
• The ease of cleanup of the demonstrated biobased sorbents was comparable or better than the ease of cleanup of the baseline sorbent products.
• The overall user satisfaction with demonstrated biobased sorbent performance was comparable or better than the overall satisfaction with the baseline sorbent products.

Due to the increased absorbency of the biobased products, participants found an overall reduction in the amount of sorbent required for cleanup, resulting in an up to 60 percent cost reduction over the current method of oil spill cleanup. Participants also found the increased absorbency of the biobased products resulted in reduced waste generation. This absorptive efficiency, combined with the lighter weight of the biobased sorbents compared to clay, supports lower associated disposal costs where the cost of disposal is based on waste weight or volume.

To facilitate transition of biobased sorbent technologies, the DoD STED Program will continue to support demonstrations at DoD facilities upon request.

Based on the results of this demonstration, ANAD production engineers have red listed clay-based sorbent products and transitioned to the demonstrated biobased sorbent products. As a result of this demonstration and ANAD requests for these products, the General Services Administration (GSA) established the following National Stock Numbers and Multiple Award Schedule for the demonstrated sorbents. The successful cooperation between GSA and the DoD STED Program to make these products available in the GSA supply system led to the issuance of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between DoD and GSA to expedite the availability of sustainable products and technologies in the Federal marketplace that are successfully demonstrated through the DoD STED Program. Click HERE for more information:

Demonstration Product National Stock Numbers

NSN / Container Size
7930-01-702-9663 / Nature’s Broom Absorbent, 4LB Pouch
7930-01-702-9662 / Nature’s Broom Absorbent 0.9 CF Bag
7930-01-702-8838 / Nature’s Broom Small Spill Kit (containing 4LB Pouch)
7930-01-702-8837 / Nature’s Broom Absorbent Sock
7930-01-702-8835 / Nature’s Broom Absorbent Pillow
7930-01-702-8836 / Containment Case for Absorbent Pillow
7930-01-701-3322 / Dry Sweep Absorbent, 0.8 CF Bag
7930-01-702-9050 / Absorbent Pad and Containment Case
7930-01-702-8834 / Oil Only Pads
7930-01-703-0271 / Universal Pads

Demonstration GSA Schedule

Multiple Award Schedule 47QSWA22D0046

Demonstration Product GSA Slip Sheet

https://www.gsa.gov/system/files/Biobased%20Absorbent%20Products%20Slip%20Sheet.pdf