Better way to clean up oil spills?

[☭proletarian☭]

An ultra-lightweight sponge made of clay and a bit of high-grade plastic draws oil out of contaminated water but leaves the water behind.

And, lab tests show that oil absorbed can be squeezed back out for use.

New material absorbs, conserves oil

 

[waltky]

Just in time for Trump to tell oil companies, "Drill baby, drill"...

Treated Sawdust May Help Sop Up, Burn Off Arctic Oil Spills
December 14, 2016 — Federal researchers looking for ways to contain petroleum spills in frigid Arctic waters are investigating whether a powder form of humble sawdust can provide a solution.

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are testing chemically modified wood flour to determine whether it can enhance burning of crude oil after a spill. Tests of small batches treated with components of vegetable oil indicate the material will grab onto crude oil and help keep it near the surface. PNNL senior research scientist George Bonheyo, who is also a research professor of bioengineer at Washington State University, calls the material “incredibly buoyant, ice repelling and water-repelling.” “It really, really loves oil,” Bonheyo said. “It absorbs at least five times its weight in oil.”

Oil spreads on top of water with a slushy crust.​

Environmental groups say challenges with cleaning an oil spill are amplified in the Arctic and it's one of their primary objections to drilling off Alaska's northern coast. The location is far from ports and other infrastructure taken for granted at drilling sites such as the Gulf of Mexico. Storms are fierce and Arctic waters can be open, frozen or partially covered with ice ranging from floes to slush.

Benefits of burning

Mechanical recovery has not proven effective because ice can jam skimmers. Researchers at the PNNL lab have focused on burning and bioremediation. “The point with doing a burn is that it allows you within a matter of minutes to remove upward of 90 percent of the oil from the water,” Bonheyo said. To burn, he said, untreated crude oil must be fresh and at least 3mm thick, a little more than two stacked dimes. Early results from lab tests of the chemically treated sawdust indicate the material will help keep an oil slick together in the face of buffeting by wind, waves or ice, Bonheyo said, and allow it to burn in thinner amounts. “We know we can get below 1mm,” he said. “We don't know exactly what the minimum thickness is.”

A controlled oil spill burn at PNNL in Richland, Washington.​

Crude oil weathers when absorbed by the material, but remains buoyant for at least four months. “It works very well at holding a spill together. It seems to act kind of like a wick, allowing the volatile, flammable components to rise up to the surface to facilitate an efficient burn,” Bonheyo said.

Burn tests