FAQ's

Contaminated stormwater runoff, known as ‘non-point source pollution’, is a major source of contamination for lakes, streams, rivers, estuaries, coastal waters and even groundwater. Federal EPA considers this source of contamination so onerous that the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) stormwater phase I and II permit structure, requires permitees to treat their stormwater before discharge and issues permits with specific effluent discharge requirements. These permits require every responsible party/permittee (municipality, industry or construction site) to treat all stormwater originating on their property and remove pollution to the ‘maximum extent practicable’ (MEP) to meet the discharge standards of their permit. Of equal significance is the implementation of CWA section 303d, “Total Maximum Daily Load” (TMDL). This requires the management of entire watersheds and pays considerable attention to stormwater runoff contamination adversely impacting the water quality of all receiving waters. Of particular note are the many watersheds that have to address TMDLs for bacteria contamination. Compliance means removing bacteria from the stormwater runoff before it reaches the receiving waters and deteriorates the beneficial uses of that water.

What solutions does AbTech provide to help treat stormwater runoff? AbTech has successfully developed the Smart Sponge® to help treat stormwater runoff. AbTech’s Smart Sponge is a proprietary combination of synthetic polymers with a unique molecular structure that are chemically selective to hydrocarbons. Smart Sponge fully encapsulates recovered oil preventing absorbed oil from leaching. In its original form, this technology’s oil absorbing capabilities makes it highly effective as a filtration media to remove hydrocarbons and other pollutants from flowing or pooled water.

Smart Sponge can also be treated with an antimicrobial agent that promotes and prolongs the efficient and effective functioning of the filter. This expanded technology, known as Smart Sponge Plus, clearly differentiates AbTech’s products from competitive stormwater treatment devices. The malleable nature of the Smart Sponge material allows it to be formed into a variety of shapes for optimum effectiveness in a wide variety of contaminated water filtration applications. Smart Sponge currently holds seventeen patents and is deployed in 36 states. AbTech also offers other value added services such as installation and maintenance through Distribution partners.

See related Item: Smart Sponge® and Antimicrobial Smart Sponge® Plus

The Smart Sponge technology can be deployed in several different applications such as catch basin inserts, skimmers and vaults. Our product portfolio includes the Ultra-Urban® filter for catch basin inserts, line and passive skimmers, the Smart PAK® and the Stormwater Antimicrobial Treatment System (SWAT) for use in vault designs.

Please visit our products page to learn more.

AbTech’s Smart Sponge technology has been deployed in over 11,000 installations across 36 states, including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Washington, and Texas. Please visit our case studies and press release pages to learn about a few of our installations.

Please visit our case studies page to learn more.

Smart Sponge offers a number of obvious advantages over traditional adsorbents such as polypropylene. One of the main benefits is its ability to fully encapsulate recovered oil, resulting in a substantially more effective solution. Smart Sponge® unique safely absorbs rather than adsorbs hydrocarbons, ensuring that they will not leak or leach back into the environment. It can also remain in place until fully saturated resulting in no wasted product and less expensive disposal options. This cost-effectiveness makes Smart Sponge one of the most desired products on the market.

Hydrocarbons from non-point sources are deposited on streets, highways, parking areas, and industrial sites which are washed into storm drains when it rains. Research has shown that annual stormwater runoff from one square mile of roads and parking areas can contain as much as 18,000 liters of oil and grease. This number does not include deliberate dumping and accidental releases of oil. Smart Sponge products strategically deployed in catch basins, skimmers and vaults remove the oil in a non leaching fashion from the stormwater flow and prevent its discharge back into receiving waters.

Proper maintenance will prolong the effectiveness of our Smart Sponge products. With proper usage, the life cycle is approximately 1-3 years. However, this depends on the amount of trash and debris that is filtered through the Ultra-Urban Filter (UUF).

Smart Sponge® samples saturated with hydrocarbons both in the lab and in the field have been tested according to the EPA’s Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (“TCLP”). These tests show that Smart Sponge® is a “non-leaching” (i.e., non-detect or “N.D.”) product. As a result, Smart Sponge® technology can afford many cost effective and environmentally friendly disposal options.

The following waste disposal and resource recovery industries have accepted spent Smart Sponge® products for disposal and/or recycling.

Waste-to-Energy Facilities - A specialized segment of the solid waste industry has used spent Smart Sponge® as an alternative fuel in the production of electricity. WTE is acknowledged at the federal level as a renewable energy source under the Federal Power Act, Title IV of the Clean Air Act and is a participant in the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Program.

Cement Kilns - This industry has used the spent Smart Sponge® as an alternative fuel in the production process of Portland Cement. This process is considered a beneficial reuse of waste products.

The BTU value of spent Smart Sponge® is consistently above the average acceptable levels set for this high temperature.

Landfills - As discussed above, spent Smart Sponge® products have been classified as a solid waste and have been accepted at Subtitle D Landfills.

Please refer to our product specifications page for more information on disposal methods.

Please visit our Distributor Partner page for more information on distributors in your area.

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