Ragnar Kallak, the company's founder, explained it toScience Daily: “[Peat moss] absorbs the oil on contact and encapsulates it. Water does not penetrate the peat moss, so the encapsulated oil is trapped in a non-sticky crust which is easily removed from the surface of the water.” Kallak Absorbent was deemed a success against a 2009 oil spill off the coast of Norway.