BioFence.com manufactures & sells eco-friendly, biodegradable erosion fences
Title
Welcome to BioFence.com - home of the EPA award winning BioFence - biodegradable silt fence...
Description
Technology Description: BIOFENCE was developed to 1/provide greater silt removal than the hay bale/silt fence combo, 2/use materials that are totally biodegradable and non toxic to prevent placing lubricant laden plastics and weed and invasive seed entry in wetlands during erosion control, and 3/ provide a product made in the United States to reduce foreign imports and offer better price advantages.
BioFence was developed in 1994. A niche product that grew into competition for silt controls, it has several advantages. Most black plastic silt fence comes from the Far East and shipped to Georgia where oil lubricated rollers trim it to size. Most hay bales are Canadian, contrary to misconceptions that they come from small local US farmers, and are straw or hay meaning a seed content in the bale.When we first designed BioFence, about 34 versions were initially designed, and tested for biodegradability. The final product version selected was about 10-20% better than hay bale/silt fence combinations in silt catching/blockage. Our reasoning is: One - a blade of straw in a hay bale has a hard, shiny, and smooth coat which catches no silt as the individual blade of the hay bale. The silt trapping in a hay bale comes from the intersecting pieces of straw in the bale, but not from the pieces themselves. BioFence also has the intersecting action but adds interlocking ability of the excelsior fiber providing additional silt trapping in the aspen wood fiber section of the fence. Rough edges in the individual pieces of aspen catch silt as well, so the result is blockage by the intersecting and interlocking action, and trapping by the individual wood fibers themselves. BioFence's backing material varies from the hydrocarbon sourced plastic fibers in a black plastic silt fence, that does not shrink nor swell in rainfall events. BioFence uses a treated, dense 8-10 ounce weave burlap composite. Swelling in storm events for a smaller hole opening (which means greater silt trapping), and drying out when the storm recedes, the opening re-establishes itself to allow water passage.
Most traditional black plastic fences are attached to the stakes by stapling. Staples are thin flimsy attachments for the weight fill can place against a silt fence. BioFence is made by sewing looped seams to insert wooden stakes. BioFence's 4' or 42" stakes places the stake 12-18" into the ground rather than the usual 8". In soft soils the fence cannot bend over and with the stakes imbedded into the fence, the fence cannot rip away from the stakes. With the stakes installed as part of the assembly, the client is really getting a complete ready-to-install unit for erosion control and does not need to go out and buy stakes.
