Michael Colello / of the Gateway

06/20/07 11:42:00

Standing at his workbench, Herb Pearse swishes a jar full of tap water spiked with motor oil. Pouring the copper-toned concoction through a gray fabric filter, he nods assuredly as clear water collects at the bottom of the jar. It’s a pretty simple concept, Pearse admits, but one with the potential to greatly benefit the environment.

Pearse is president of Eco-Tec, Inc., a Key Peninsula-based company that designs environmentally friendly water decontamination products using a specially designed fiber.

“It’s made from waste,” Pearse said. “It’s re-usable and ultimately it’s a fuel source: it doesn’t get much ‘greener’ than that.”

The material in question — the same used in Pearse’s experiment with the tainted tap water — is marketed under the name “Adsorb-it.”

Invented by Issaquah resident Jerry Brownstein, the so-called “X-Tex” fiber can reportedly remove oil and oil-borne contaminants from water without impeding water flow.

Unlike conventional booms and polypropelene sheets — standard issue in most oil spill response arsenals — the fabric can also remove oil sheen from the water, Pearse said.

A specially treated version of the fabric can also be used to kill bacteria, fungus, mold and algae.

Constructed of select recycled fibers, the grayish-purple fabric resembles automotive upholstery underlining. Eco-Tec promotional materials say the fabric can be used for everything from spill response and oil recovery to storm water filtration, ditch liners and shoreline protection.

The fabric can be re-used and can hold up to 40 times its weight in oil. The oil can be extracted via a ringer or centrifuge or, once completely saturated, can be burnt as fuel.

At the company’s Rocky Bay headquarters, Pearse and Mary Peacock, Eco-Tec vice president of design and manufacture, have crafted a line of “Adsorb-it” products, including booms and shore guards, among others.

Not to be confused with absorb, “adsorb” means contaminants adsorb to the surface of the fibers, allowing it to be reused and oils to be reclaimed.

Competing against larger companies, Pearse and Peacock say business has taken some time to get off the ground. Designing and promoting the products is a full-time job.

Due to confidentiality agreements, they are reluctant to name individual clients — Pearse did name the Port of Seattle — but the company’s client list includes a number of ports, military installations and marinas.

Pearse noted that the company does more business with out-of-state clients than within Washington.

A longtime designer of everything from clothes and shoes to industrial products, Peacock said the company “was in the red up until this year.”

But business could be picking up.

Earlier this year, Eco-Tec won a prestigious Energy Globe Award jointly with X-Tex fabric inventor Jerry Brownstein. Pearse and Peacock say the material is far more effective and ecologically friendly than standard booms and polypropelene materials — still the standard in environmental cleanup.

Worse, polypropelene is “virgin” material, not recycled. It can’t be used again, and it can’t remove oil sheen, which is often left by oil recovery operations to saturate the water.

Eco-Tec was started by Pearse in the mid-1980s as an environmental mitigation service. Since 2003, though, Pearse and Peacock have focused exclusively on the Adsorb-it line.

“People tend to make cleaning up the environment complicated,” Pearse said. “It’s not.”

For more information, call 888-668-8982 or visit www.adsorb-it.com.

Reach reporter Michael Colello at 853-9240 or by e-mail at michael.colello@gateline.com.