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Cloth Successfully Separates Oil From Gulf Water

Posted by kdawson on from the now-to-try-it-on-cats-and-dogs dept.

Chinobi writes "Di Gao, an assistant professor at the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, has developed a method of separating oil from water within just seconds using a cotton cloth coated in a chemical polymer that makes it both hydrophilic (it bonds with the hydrogen atoms in water) and oleophobic (oil-repelling), making it absolutely perfect for blocking oil and letting water pass through. Gao tested his filter successfully on Gulf Oil water and oil and has an impressive video to demonstrate the results." This is a laboratory demonstration; the technology hasn't been tested at scale.

10 of 327 comments (clear)

  1. Too late probably, but... by alfredos · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...Unfortunately there will be a next time.

    1. Re:Too late probably, but... by Bemopolis · · Score: 3, Insightful

      How were oil companies even given permission to drill before they demonstrated reliable containment and recovery plans with the necessary materials/products already stockpiled?

      I'm shocked too — especially considering the last administration was literally packed with members of the oil and gas industry! Hmmm, waitasec...

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  2. Doing in a lab is one thing by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Doing it on a massive scale in the Gulf of Mexico is something else entirely.

    While this might prove useful in future spills, it would seem to me to be very unlikely that it could be brought up to scale fast enough to help with the current problem

    --
    This ain't rocket surgery.
    1. Re:Doing in a lab is one thing by pianoman113 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      9 years ago, a great deal of military technology went from lab to massive scale rather quickly for new bombs to wreak havoc in cave strongholds. Why is BP or some other interested party with deep pockets unable to do the same here?

      We have an existing crisis and a potential solution. Somebody pony up the cash and start producing this. Its a risk, but if effective there is a great deal of profit to be made in the event of another oil spill.

      Calling any entrepreneurs...

      --

      Free as in speech, free as in beer, or free as in lunch?
    2. Re:Doing in a lab is one thing by aplusjimages · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Clean up is going to take years, so there's time.

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    3. Re:Doing in a lab is one thing by schon · · Score: 3, Insightful

      a great deal of military technology went from lab to massive scale rather quickly for new bombs to wreak havoc in cave strongholds. Why is BP or some other interested party with deep pockets unable to do the same here?

      Because there's no money in cleaning it up, and a lot of expense.

      We have an existing crisis and a potential solution. Somebody pony up the cash and start producing this. Its a risk, but if effective there is a great deal of profit to be made in the event of another oil spill.

      Therein lies the problem. BP estimated the likelihood of the current spill as "so close to zero that it doesn't matter". Ask any oil company what the chances are of another spill, and you'll get "so close to zero that it doesn't matter." So why should they spend all this money on something that will never happen?

      Environmental issues are externalities - and it would be socialism to force companies to deal with externalities. After all, we're all responsible for the Gulf spill, because of our demand for oil. And anyway, if you tried to enact a law, they would just shut down and open up under a different name. Let the invisible market fairy handle this, she will make it all go away!

  3. Re:Great for filtering, but - by dmatos · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You could potentially use big trawling nets of this stuff to sieve the oil out of the gulf, just like fishermen use trawling nets to sieve fish out of the water. Scoop up a big bucket of oil+water, wait for the water to drain out, then pour the oil into a reservoir on the boat. Repeat.

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  4. Re:Great for filtering, but - by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I would think what you want for an oil cleanup is a material that is oleophilic but hydrophobic,IOW, just the opposite.

    It's probably the difference between having a mop (your proposal) and a strainer (his creation). Depending on a variety of factors either one might be preferable for cleanup.

  5. Re:Great for filtering, but - by AdmiralXyz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    With this (assuming it works at scale) you can "push" the oil to where you want it to go, meaning that if they deployed large ones on the surface they could gradually "herd" all the oil into one place to be siphoned off... or rather, they could, if BP hadn't injected all those dispersants making it end up god-knows-where.

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  6. Re:Well, just you just keep on driving by pluther · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Yay!!

    I knew somebody would figure out a way of making this the "liberals" fault!

    All hail the mighty Spin!

    --
    If the masses can keep you down, you're not the Ubermensch.