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Startup company Oil Spill Cleaning & Rescue Solutions (OCRS) has developed a method to clean up oil spills that involves using a liquid solution that is said to act like a 'sponge'. With the help of Rotterdam's Port Innovation Lab, the company aims to use the method to combat oil pollution.

The liquid polyurethane solution used, which OCRS says is harmless, is sprayed on the oil. Once applied, the solution binds with the oil, forming a composite 'sponge' that absorbs the oil but not the water. The sponge then retains the oil when it is removed from the surface of the water, after which both the sponge and the oil can be recycled following separation.

Founders Bruno Valkeniers [pictured left], Henk Smith [pictured right] and Frans Vandepoele say that while the OCRS absorbent is most effective on thin oil layers, it can also assist in cleaning up thicker layers.

Valkeniers, a maritime consultant, intends to use the method to give something back to the industry in which he worked for decades. Aged over 60, he says it is an ideal time to be involved in a startup company.

"There's no longer that much at stake. I do not have to interrupt a career and I no longer have to support children or pay off a mortgage," he explained.

OCRS entered the Launch Lab programme, which is also part of Port Innovation Lab. The partnership between YES!Delft and the Port of Rotterdam Authority helps port-related startups to launch their ideas.

OCRS is currently carrying out tests. As a first product for the maritime sector, the founders are focusing on a kind of 'oil extinguisher', something like a fire extinguisher that can be used by crews of smaller recreational and commercial vessels to clean up oil that has been spilled.

Port Innovation Lab will be hosting an AccessDay on 20 September 2016. During the event, people will have the opportunity to pitch their idea to directors and innovators of the port of Rotterdam.