By now it’s become abundantly and distressingly clear that we now look at the Gulf of Mexico and we see an enormous clean-up project on our collective hands.
While the response is underway, we need to grasp the fact that it will require substantial time and energy to complete. One University of Pittsburgh engineering professor however has come up with an application for removing oil from water that could significantly step up the effectiveness of our efforts.
According to a university press release, professor Di Gao has transformed simple cotton into a lean, mean, oil separating machine. The cotton is treated with a unique polymer that renders the natural fiber able to treat the water and the oil that it encounters very differently; water will pass completely through the medium, but the oil will be retained by the filter’s fibrous matrix.
Professor Gao has posted a YouTube video (see below) that reveals the filter’s effectiveness at the scale of the lab bench. Gao believes that if the technique is scaled up into boat-dragged surface skimmers, the approach will provide oil removal that is dramatically more effective than currently deployed booms and skimmers. As the Pitt press release additionally highlights, the application represents a safety benefit as well. Among the current weapons in the response arsenal is the use of dispersants that are of significant ecological concern. Gao’s device adds nothing to the environment, and leaves behind not chemical residue but dramatically cleaner water.
Gao’s research focus is in the arena of chemical nanostructures, and includes the development of a coating for paved surfaces, especially roads and runways, that prevent the formation of ice. Motivated by the scale of the unfolding disaster, Gao set to work on the idea which he has since submitted to the official Deepwater Horizon Response website which solicits input from the public on how to manage and respond to the massive spill.
Photo by US Navy via Wikimedia Commons.