It has been over two months since British Petroleum’s (BP) Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig exploded, creating a massive oil spill along the Gulf coast. Earlier, we discussed BP’s use of Corexit, a chemical that breaks down the oil slick for bacterial consumption, or sinks it into the water to prevent it from reaching the shore. In that discussion, we noted Corexit’s potential health risks to humans, as well as marine life and water fowl.

Critics of how the massive oil slick has been handled so far have noted the technologies deployed to counter it are the same technologies used for the last several decades. Though many new technologies offer alternatives, many hurdles remain before a complete solution is found.

Part of the slowdown in adopting new technologies for this spill is that the process for vetting them requires analysis and approval from BP, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as other U.S. agencies. With the U.S. government taking charge it is unclear whether we can expect further “red tape” delays. The one silver lining is that all parties involved are entertaining the flood of new ideas and suggestions coming into the help lines – even those in the early stages of field testing – which could provide a potential market for a myriad of new technologies.

In the last several weeks many new technologies, especially companies with non-chemical water treatment technologies, have tried their hand at solving the problem. For example, Ecosphere Technologies has already gained approval from BP and is awaiting approvals from government agencies to deploy its Ozonix Systems, which uses an advanced oxidation process for water treatment. In an interesting convergence, actor Kevin Costner – star of the post-apocalyptic movie Waterworld – has privately funded the development of a centrifugal device with Ocean Therapy Solutions, which BP has approved for testing on the oil spill. The technology separates oil from water, stores it in tankers and returns purified water back to the gulf. John Houghtaling, chief executive of Ocean Therapy Solutions, claims that the largest of his company’s machines can separate oil from water at a rate of 200 gallons per minute.

Meanwhile, other companies fielding clean-up technologies – like MyCelx, AbTech Industries, and Gradek Energy – have since moved away from treating oil spills because of the approvals barriers. However, the Deepwater Horizon spill is also providing opportunities for software solutions and sensor technologies that help guide clean-up efforts. Software technologies that track the movement oil spills have an easier path into this market because they provide ongoing monitoring capability with lower capital costs, and we expect minimal regulatory hurdles given the nature of the services.

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