Mar Egeo, 1992: 87% of the crude degraded in 12 days
It is the most solid figure that exists for this bioremediator, and it was not published by the company that makes it: a public body measured it.
What happened
In December 1992 the tanker Mar Egeo ran aground and caught fire off the coast of A Coruña. It was one of the major hydrocarbon pollution episodes in Spain's recent history, and the starting point for applied bioremediation in the country.
The trial
The first Spanish trial of the bioremediator now supplied by BioPulcher was carried out on that spill. The Marine Research Institute of Vigo, part of the CSIC, monitored it and recorded 87% degradation of the crude in 12 days.
Why that figure matters so much
Because it meets the three conditions that make a number credible: an independent third party measured it, that party is a public research body, and it was done on a real spill rather than in a laboratory. In a sector full of percentages with no origin, a figure with that provenance is worth more than any promise.
What you can and cannot conclude
You can conclude that the product degrades hydrocarbons measurably and within short timeframes. You cannot conclude it will deliver exactly 87% in any port: temperature, oxygenation, type of hydrocarbon and surface all change the outcome. That is why our site talks about a 1:1 reference ratio and one to two days, and does not repeat the 87% as if it were a guarantee.
Want the full technical dossier?
System details, reports from the CSIC and the University of Vigo, and the Spanish Merchant Marine approval.
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