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Sponge-Like "Swelling Glass" Absorbs Toxins in Water

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the hungry-like-the-sponge dept.

MikeChino writes "A company called Absorbent Materials has created a new kind of 'swelling glass' that can clean up contaminated groundwater by soaking up volatile molecules like a sponge. Dubbed 'Obsorb,' the material can hold up to 8 times its weight in fuel, oil, and solvents without sucking up any of the water itself. Once the material is full it floats to the surface and the pollutants can be skimmed off."

5 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. And after absorbing all that gunk... by gestalt_n_pepper · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Does it all magically disappear?

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    1. Re:And after absorbing all that gunk... by gestalt_n_pepper · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Nah, it was stupid. It's just that I wasn't the only stupid person here.

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  2. Re:Shamwow by BlindSpot · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That was my first thought until I read more closely... this thing purportedly won't absorb the water, only the contaminants within. So, unlike ShamWow, you could put a load of this material in a lake without soaking up the entire lake.

  3. Re:Is there any there, there? by Chris+Pimlott · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I hate it when people use random unrelated photos, especially when the article is about a specific new product. If you don't have an image, don't insult your audience by misleading them.

  4. An improved silica gel by TheHawke · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Glass - Silica.

    Silica Gel - absorbent glass.

    Easy, huh?

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