SCI-PLAN PTY LTD

Planning a Futu re for Aust ralia

ACN 01 0 988 931

PREPARED for
Sokerol Australia Pty Ltd

PREPARED by
Dr Davi d Charle s-Edw ards

June, 2001

PO Bo x 199, The Gap, Qld . 406 1 Phone 0 7 3 36 6 5 422 Fa x 0 7 336 6 4 54 7 E-Mail: scipla n@o pt usnet.co m. au

HEALTH /SAFETY DATA SHEET

SOKEROL OIL/CHEMICAL ABSORBENT

100% ORGANI C. THE SAFE AND EASY TO US E OI L/ CHEMICAL ABSORBE NT ON

LAND AND ON W ATE R.
SOURCE OF M ATERI AL

A milled by-prod uct of t he Qu eensland Soft woods

Indust ry.

CHEMICAL COMPOSI TION

Plant organic matter with 1.5% a sh content

PHYSI CAL DATA

Appearance

A dry mixture of fibre s and particulates

Bulk Density

Appro xim ately 0.3kg/L

Particle Sizes 75 micron s pa rticles < 3 .25% of product weight

5 micron s pa rticle s < 0. 012% of product weight
FIRE & EXPLOSION

Not no rm ally subject to spontaneou s combustion

No known explo sive tendency
Complies with A.S.T.M.C-739 1 984

RE ACTIVI TY

Stable
Biodegradable
React s with st rong oxidi sing agent s

STORAGE & HANDLI NG

No special prote ction precaution s re quired but sto re

in dry conditions

HE ALTH

Eye contact

Treat as f or a ny 'neutral' foreign bod y

Wear goggle s if nece ssa ry

Skin conta ct

No known effe ct s

Inhalation

< 1% respirable wood du st

Expo sure standard in an occupational environm ent
not to exceed 5m g/m 3

Ingestion

No known effe ct s

OIL ABSORBANCY RATES

Appro xim ately 1L/kg of it s o wn weight

DIS POS AL

Brush or broom material into containers for normal

land-fill dispo sal
Oil saturated Sokerol ca n be safely di sposed to
lined and unlined landfill site s

SOLE MA NUFA CTURE RS OF T HE SOKE ROL RA NGE OF PRODUCTS.

ACN 106 011 063 Sokerol (Au stralia) Pty Ltd, Po st Office Box 17 40, Noo sa Heads, Qld
4580.
Tele phone : (07)5 440 5488 Facs imile: (07) 5440 5499

Properties
Sokerol i s a natu ral milled wood fib re gen erat ed a s a by-product of the Queen sland Soft woo ds
Indu st ry. It s ph ysical and chemical propertie s are typical of milled vegetable material.
Sokerol i s not toxic and is neither known, nor expected to be, ca rcinogenic. Whilst it is a m ixture
of fibrou s a nd pa rticulate matter, only 3.5% of t he particulate matter i s le ss t han 75 micron s and
0.012% less than 5 m icrons in size. Te sts b y the Government Chem ical Laboratory indicate that
Sokerol contains le ss than 1% respirable wood dust, with an exposu re standard in an
occupa tional environm ent not to e xceed 5mg/m 3 . (Appe ndices 1 a nd 2)
It ha s a specific g ravity of 1.2 4kg/L and a natural bul k den sity o f approxim ately 0.3kg/L. The fre sh
product contain s about 5% m oisture by weight and ha s an a sh content of 1.5% by weight. The
material is difficult to ignite, requiring a critical radiant flux of 0,14 W/cm 2 for ignition. It i s not
subject to spo ntaneou s combustion and ha s an ignition temperature of 75o C. Organic pe sticide
and herbicide re sidue s are pre sent in the milled material at less than 0 .1mg/kg(material).
(Appe ndices 1, 3 and 4)
Sokerol i s chemically inert. Test s have been condu cted on the rea ctivity of Sokerol with a
num ber of rea gent s. The re sult s, sho wn below, indicate that it will react with st rong oxidising
agent s such a s nitric a cid or dam p calcium hypochlorite. (Appe ndi x 5)
Reage nt

Properties

Observations

wate r

neutral

no obse rve d rea ction

880 am monia
triethanolamine
pyridine
50% sodium hydro xide

alkali
alkali
alkali
alkali

no obse rve d rea ction

no obse rve d rea ction
no obse rve d rea ction
chars slowly with slight tem peratu re
ri se

acetic acid
50% hydrochloric acid
50% sulphuric a cid
conc. sulphuric acid

acid
acid
acid
acid

no obse rve d rea ction

no obse rve d rea ction
darken s an d chars
chars with som e heat e volved

conc. nit ric acid

50% nitric acid
100V hydroge n pe roxide
calcium hypochlorite
powde r

acid, oxidising agent

acid, oxidising agent
oxidising agent
oxidising agent

nitrous fum e s and heat evolved

darkening of m aterial
sam ple becam e solid
no obse rve d rea ction when d ry
violent reaction when dam p

Test s h ave been condu cted on t he abso rbance of agricultural he rbicide s a nd pesticides by
Sokerol. Maldison and Demeton -S -methyl insecticide s and Trichlorofon and Endothal, dissolved
in both solvent s and diluted in water, were safely abso rbed with no adverse reactions observed.
(Appe ndix 5)

A Table of comm on product s, indicating those, which can and can not be safely ab sorbed by
Sokerol, i s pro vided below.
2-Buta none
Acetanilide
Acetic Acid
Acetone
AF 50
AF 50
Agripho r
Agriquat
Agri san
Anhyd rou s am monia
Aldersp ra y
Am monia Solution 25% / 33%
Am monium Iron (iii) Sulphate
12 Hyd rate
Am monium Oxalate
Am monium Thiocyanate
Anti Bac
Bactricide
BD20
Benzoic Acid
BK75
Boilerguard A
Boilerguard AA
Boilerguard CS2
Boning room mix
Boning room mix
Broma kil
Calcium Carbonate
Ca rbon Tet rachlo ride
Catonic Ha nd Cleaner
Chlorfo am
Chlorof orm
Chlorta n 16
Chu rn shine
Ci slin
Citric A cid Monohydrate
Complete

Copper (II ) Sulphate 5 Hyd raft

Cre sisan
Cyclo po we r
Cyclphe s
Di-Amm onium Iron (II) Sulphate 6
Hydrat e
Di-S odium Tetraborate
Diethyl Ethe r
Dim ethyl Formamide
DTE 25 Oil Hea vy
Ethanol
Fenitrothion
Folithion
Floorsafe Anti slip cleane r

Nitric Acid
Orthopho sphoric Acid
Ortho san
Ortha san
Perchloric Acid
Petroleum Spirit 40-60 Deg
Phenolphalein
Phospho ric A cid
Polym eric disp 5
Polyphen 50
Potassium Iodate
Potassium Iodide
Potassium Nit rate

GP D
Potassium Pe rm anganate
GP D5
Potassium Sulphate
Halo san
Proto solv
Handsan
Quat racide
HD 50
Round up
Hydrochloric Acid
Ro yal Foam
Hydrog en Peroxide Solution
Salvodine
Hypo 10
Scalex
Inhibited descaling acid
Shane
Iodine indicator
Smoke House
Iodine Iodate
Smoke House Cleaner
Kieldahl Catalyst Tablets S eleniumSodium Hyd roxide
Kwi ksan
Sodium Hypo chloride
Lead (II ) Acetate
Sodium M etal Dry
Liquid cau stic sod a
Sodium Thiosulphate 5 Hydrat e
Liquid smo ke house cleane r
Sulphuric Acid
Metal bright
Topax
Methanol
Towe rgua rd 3
Microcide
Towe rgua rd 450
Microphor
Towe rgua rd 5
Mobil clear 636
Urea
N-Hexan e and He xane Fra ctions Vanquish
Nicontinic A cid
Ze rice S68

Note: I tem s so m arked a re not

compatible with Soke rol

Absorbency
Becau se the bulk densit y of Sokerol m ay increa se during prolonged pe riod s of sto rage,
ab sorbency is reco rded a s the volum e of liquid absorbe d per unit mass of Sokerol. The ability of
Sokerol to ab sorb a variety of liquid hydrocarbons has been te sted by pla cing liquid hydrocarbo ns
in contact with Sokerol fo r period s of t wo (2) m inutes. The volum e of hydrocarbon ab sorbed per
unit mass of Sokerol i s shown below. (Appendices 6 a nd 7 )

Unleaded pet rol

Diesel di stillate
Lubricating oil
Gear oil
Hydraulic oil
Indu strial gear oil
Butanol
Chlorof orm
Xylene

Litre s ab sorbed / kg(Sokerol)

0.92
0.88
0.75
0.81
0.68
0.84
1.52
1.36
1.46

A longer cont act time, or mechanical mixing, will increa se the volume of hydro ca rbon ab sorbed by
unit mass of Sokerol.
The total allowable leaching contaminant levels by Bri sbane City Coun cil in approved unlined and
lined m unicipal landfills are 25,0 00 g/L and 50,000g/ L re spe ctively. Petrol, oil and diesel we re
mixed with So kerol at a rate of 1.4L/ kg, and 10 0g of each mixture wa s subject to wea k acid (p H
4.9) ext raction for 18 hours at 30 rpm in a rotary T CLP ext raction apparat us. The te st results are
sho wn belo w. (Appe ndi x 8)

<C1 0
Petrol
Oil
Die sel

257
252
266

Leaching hyd ro ca rbon fraction

C10 - C14
C15 - C28
C29 C3 5
Con cent ration in leachate g/ L
938
<10
<10
<10
<10
<10
33
<10
<10

Sokerol can con servatively abso rb 1L/ kg of hydro carbon. The resulting mixture i s suitable for
disposal in an unlined, or lined, Brisbane city Council m unicipal landfill.

Disposal to Landfill Site

Advice from the Environm ental Protection Agen cie s in Queen sland, Ta smania and the No rthe rn
Territory ha s been received (see Appendix 9) that am ount s of up to 10 0 kg s (a ppro xim ately 0.1
cubic m etre s) can be dispo sed to landfill provided that:

there i s no free liquid associated with the spent absorbent (t hat it s ab sorbency ha s not
been exceeded )
that the nature of th e liquids absorbed a re known and will readily biodegrade
that liquid contained in the ab sorbent is not readily leachable
the material is not mixed with othe r waste.

Fo r the sm aller quantities of ab sorbent, the di spo ser should com ply with their duties under the
Environmental Protection Act (their g eneral duty of environmental care ). For amount s greater than
100 kg s, di spo sal should be dealt with by an appropriately licen sed wa ste t reatment com pany.
Guidelines pro vided b y the E PA in New Sout h Wale s1 & 2 and We stern Au st ralia3 will allow sim ilar
quantities of spent So kerol t o be di spo sed t o landfill, with larger quantities being required to be
processed by an appropriate licen sed wa ste di sposal m anager.
Whilst no spe cific advice wa s p rovided by the South Au st ralian EPA, they have provided some
information on the Guideline s for major solid wa ste landfill depots4 . Additional information provided
by them on the Integrated W aste Strategy for Metropolitan Adelaide 1996 2 0156 and South
Aust ralia Landfill Audit 20005 indicate that di spo sal to landfill in South Au st ralia would ca rry similar
rest rictions to those indicated by the Queen sland, Northern Territory and Tasm ania Agen cie s.
No g uidelines have been p rovided b y the Victorian EPA. They have advised that where Sokerol is
used to ab sorb wa ste cla ssified unde r the En vironm ent Protection (Pre scribed Wa ste ) Regulations
19987 it must be dispo sed of as a pre scribed industrial wa ste to an EPA licensed facility. A list of
licensed f acilities i s available on the EPA databa se8 .

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

www.au stlii.edu.au/au/legis/n sw/ con sol_act/pote oa1997455

www.epa.n sw.go v.au/do wnload/ waste_guide.pdf
www.en viron. wa.gov.au/downloads/Wa ste_Management/Solid_Wa ste_to _Landfill.pdf
www.en vironm ent. sa.gov.au/epa/pdf s/swlandfill.pdf
www.en vironm ent. sa.gov.au/epa/pdf s/front.pdf
www.en vironm ent. sa.gov.au/epa/pdf s/landfill_1.pdf
http://epanote2.epa.vic.g ov.au/EPA/Publication s.nsf
www.epa. vic.gov.au/indu stry/i wdb

Summary
Sokerol i s an inert nat ural plant p roduct that can be stored and handled without ri sk.
Sokerol i s gen erally un reactive, bu t should not b e u sed as an ab sorb ent fo r st rong oxidising
agent s.
Sokerol can abso rb, by sim ple contact, approxim ately 0.8L/ kg of hydrocarbon s in two m inutes.
With a longer contact time, or mechanical m ixing, this can increase to gre ater than 1.4L/ kg.
Ab sorbed hyd rocarbons are not rea dily leached f rom Sokerol, and the m ixture i s suitable for
disposal to both unlined and lined municipal landfills.
The Environm ental P rotection Agencie s in Queen sla nd, Tasmania and No rthe rn Territory (See
Appendix 9) con side rs that the dispo sal of Sokerol to licensed landfill sites con stitutes a m inim al
risk to the environment and have app roved unlicen sed disposal of up to 10 0 kg of Soke rol at su ch
site s.

Appendices
Appendix 1 : Lette r f rom Occupational Health Unit, B ri sbane Office - date d 22.2.89.
Appendix 2: Report on te st s carried out on random sam ples of Soke rol supplied to E a st
Melbourne Laboratorie s Pty Ltd - da ted 9.10.86.
Appendix 3: Repo rt on te st s carried out on random samples of Soke rol supplied to EM L (Chem)
Pty Ltd - dated 21.11.96.
Appendix 4: Repo rt on test s carried out on random sam ple s of Sokerol supplied to Aust ralian
Wool Testing Authority - dated 5.12. 86.
Appendix 5: Report on t est s ca rried out on random sam ples of S okerol supplied to Sharp &
Ho well s Pty Ltd date d 20.11.87
Appendix 6: Repo rt on te st s ca rried out on random samples of S okerol supplied to Dandenong
Valley Authority - dat ed 17.11.86
Appendix 7: Repo rt on t e st s ca rried out on random samples of S okerol supplied to the Fo od &
Agricultural Lab s of Au st ralia Pty Ltd - dated 29.4.87.
Appendix 8: Rep ort on te st s ca rried ou t on a ran dom sample of Sokerol supplied to Envirot e st
Pty Ltd - dated 16.7.99.
Appendix 9: Letters f rom the Environm ental Prot ection Agen cie s in Queen sland, Tasm ania and
No rthe rn Territory.