Conclusive test for the small depolluting robot from the port of Frontignan

The little pollution control robot gave Frontignan complete satisfaction. -DR

For a week, the port of Frontignan tested Dpol, a depolluting robot.

It was tested for a week in the port of Frontignan. Given the efficiency of his work, he should return next year for a very long-term lease. Its little name is Dpol, like depollution. And that’s good, that’s exactly his job.

A pump and a net

This robot, made in France, is formidable in terms of surface water depollution. With a simple concept: floating thanks to its two buoys, it generates a slight current, by sucking with a pump. Anything that floats passes through and falls into a net at the rear. "It is also very useful in the context of oil pollution& quot;, specifies Jacques De Lalaubie, the director of the Frontignan marina. "Just equip it with blotting paper to pump the tablecloth". Demonstrated in La Ciotat, it would have sucked up a hectare of pollution in 24 hours.

Effective in corners

"We tested it in several places in the port. We are very happy with it", summarizes this manager. And it is not because Dpol was literally sent to the corners of the maritime enclosure that he was punished. Quite the contrary. This is where this static robot, running on electricity, is most effective. It is in fact in the corners of ports that, little by little, waste transported by sea currents accumulates. This machine weighs 35 kilos. It only requires two people to put it in the water and take it out. Once the net is full, simply lift it manually and empty it into a trash can. Maintenance is minimal: rinsing with fresh water is enough before storing it. 

In 2024, logically

After this week of a conclusive test, the Muscat port should initiate procedures to acquire, for 4,000 euros, the services of a copy of the Dpol robot. Arrival expected next year.

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