Sorbents:

Sorbent booms and barriers are used to absorb a moving oil slick. They only work well when a slick is thin, because once their surfaces are saturated, they can't absorb anymore.

 

Sorbents recover oil either through absorption (the oil is drawn into porous materials) or adsorption (the oil sticks to the surface of the sorbents). They're used in the final mopping up because they get at trace amounts of oil left after skimming and can be sent into areas where skimmers can't reach.

Sorbents come in two basic types: natural organic materials like peat moss and sawdust; and synthetic organic sorbents like polypropylene, polyester foam, polystyrene and polyurethane. Both types are usually applied by hand, and recovered with nets, rakes, forks and pike poles.