Research + Resources
Our research and resource page is dedicated to those who want to dive deeper into both the background and the science of the Clean Wave Program. Click on the links to read official research papers we collaborated on, pilot studies we conducted, educational activities, hair donations, and more.
This is the home for all of the program’s research papers, lesson plans, demo videos, FAQs, flyers, and more!
Diagram of singular hair reacting with oil.
Oil-heavy water about to enter storm drain after rainfall. (In need of a hair mat!)
Research Links:
- ScienceDaily Article: Oil Spill Clean-up gets Doggone Hairy
- Decontaminating Terrestrial Oil Spills: A Comparative Assessment of Dog Fur, Human Hair, Peat Moss and Polypropylene Sorbents.
- University of Technology Sydney, Australia Research on Human Hair as an Oil Spill Sorbent, see Journal of Env. Science article below for published results.
- Journal of Environmental Science Research Article Comparative Effectiveness of Natural By-Products and Synthetic Sorbents in Oil Spill Booms
- Air Force Civil Engineering Center and Matter of Trust Research Collaboration
- Inlet Guard Storm Drain Maintenance Pilot Report
- Biodegradation of Medium Chain Hydrocarbons Research Paper
- EPA Letter to Phil McCrory – oil spill hair mat inventor
- NASA Test Results on hair mats – original patent now expired and open source
- Use of hair mesh for oil spill management International Journal of Creative Research Thought
Research Links (Agriculture and soil):
- Hair mats to maintain the moisture of the soil, Study with avocados plants, Chile
- Hair mats to increase food production, study in Atacama Desert, Chile
- Nitrogen resease of hair in the soil, Stephanie Hodgson
Other Researches and studies:
- The use of human hair waste as a phenol biosorbent, Fawzi A Banat, Sameer Al-Asheh
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Use of Chemically Treated Human Hair Wastes for the Removal of Heavy Metal Ions from Water, Helan Zhang,, Fernando Carrillo-Navarrete, Montserrat López-Mesas and Cristina Palet 1
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Novel use of human hair as fiber in concrete, Naraindas Bheela, Paul Awoyerab, Oluwatobi Alukoc, Santosh Mahrod, Amelec Viloriae, Carlos Alberto Severiche Sierra
- Sound absortion of hair mat, Idiem (spanish)
- Fire resistance of hair mat, Dictuc (spanish)
- Thermal conductivity, Idiem (spanish)
Resource Links:
- Purchase Sample of Industrial Hair Mats
- Teacher / Student Oil Spill Clean Up Lesson Plan / Handout
- Cosco Busan and BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spills Photo Galleries
- FAQs for how to Donate Hair, Fur, Fleece, etc.
- What can I (my kid, classroom, scout troop..) do to help the clean wave program?
- Oil Spill Demo
- Tech sheet of “Hair mats as Oil Spill Sorbent”
- Tech sheet of “Hair mats for Agriculture use”
- Tech sheet of “Hair mats for Insulation in housing”
Flyers & Posters:
WHY THIS MATTERS?
Our research shows that this renewable waste fiber resource is sufficiently effective to compete with petroleum-based products. Begging the question, should we drill for oil to make petroleum-based absorbents to clean up oil spills.
Our research partners and customers alike are delighted with hair mats and the low tech and accessible science behind them!
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