Cloth Successfully Separates Oil From Gulf Water

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday June 8, 2010 @06:25AM 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.

1 of 327 comments (clear)

Re:Awesome by lowrydr310 · 2010-06-08 08:28 · Score: 1, Troll

It figures a guy from Pittsburgh would create a way to separate oil. I bet he figured this out while eating fries from "The O" or perhaps one of the dozens of fine greasy eating establishments throughout the city.

Mmmm.. I'm craving Primanti Brothers right now.