Nanotechnology Provides Solution for Oil Spills

A new method, based on nanotechnology, can turn an oil spill into a floating mass of brown jelly.

By converting oil on water to a gelatinous mass this allows the oil to be cleaned up efficiently.

By treating the oil quickly, this will prevent the oil from having a significant impact on the food chain.

With oil spills seabirds and fish are at the greatest risk and the impact of these creatures being affected runs through the entire food chain.

Current approaches for dealing with oil spills range from add grease and setting the slick on fire to using barriers and skimmers to remove the oil. No current method is universally successful.

Alternatively, some studies are taking place with oil-digesting bacteria but these have yet to be trailed successfully.

In a new approach the A*STAR Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (Singapore) has developed molecules with special gelling abilities. These can transform oil into a type of jelly. These so-called “supergelators” work in a matter of minutes.

The process works through the molecules being sprayed onto oil. On impact the molecules become long fibers (‘long’, that is, relative to the nano-scale.)

The fibers create a web that traps immersed oil into a jelly. This jelly floats on the surface, which fascilitates its removal from the water. Tests have been successful with both freshly spilled crude oil and highly weathered crude oil (these have different viscosities and sulfur levels.)

In a statement, lead researcher Dr. Yugen Zhang commented: “Nanoscience makes it possible to tailor the essential structures of materials at the nanometer scale to achieve specific properties.”

The researcher explains further: "Structures and materials in the nanometer size range often take on distinctive properties that are not seen in other size ranges.

Source: Digital Journal

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Taxonomy

• Technology
• Nanotechnology
• Nano Materials
• Disaster Relief
• Oil Spill Treatments
• Oil
• Disaster Management