Petro-Barrier™

How Does It Work?

Designed for the largest volume of water drainage in a good drainage field with a vertical type installation, Petro-Barriers are custom-designed and manufactured in our factory for shipping to your location or installed by SPI for each site. Land slope, under-drain percolation rates, rainfall amount, containment area size and other factors are all considered in the system design. Large containment areas or installations in wet climates might require six or more sumps whereas a small area in a low-rainfall climate might need only one or two Petro-Barriers. Because of this variability, our customers rely on our extensive experience to create the optimum design for each spill containment plan.

In a spill containment area surrounding an oil storage vessel or oil-filled electrical transformer, everything on the ground is designed and created to be impervious to oil and water. The ground is sloped to drainage sumps where the Petro-Barriers will be installed. After the drainage path and spill containment area have been completed, SPI fills the drainage sumps with three types of media that allow water to pass while removing and locking up any oil.

Average stormwater drain rates per barrier vary from 18 gallons per minute (gpm) with the 12-inch diameter Petro-Barrier to more than 100 gpm with the 72-inch diameter Petro-Barrier. Petro-Barriers are typically 24 inches deep, though custom applications are available. The most popular diameters are 18”, 24” and 36”.

How Does The Petro-Barrier Compare To Competing Products?

Expensive, high-maintenance methods such as oil/water separators, oil stop valves and oil sensing switches for pumps have contributed to or failed to prevent significant and costly oil spills for many of our customers. In comparison, with thousands of installations, oil has never gotten past the Petro-Barrier.

Petro-Barriers cost less to install, require virtually no maintenance under most circumstances, and offer the most foolproof way to prevent oil from being discharged along with storm water.

How Long Will It Last?

In normal non-spill operation, a Petro-Barrier has a five-year useful life. In the event of an oil spill, the barrier material forms a plug to prevent oil from escaping into the discharge and hence into the environment. Following a spill, the oil is contained within your spill containment area and can be reclaimed with pumps and filters. The plugged material is removed and replaced, refreshing the barrier.