Set as Homepage - Add to Favorites

【Watch Leverage Online】

Source：Unobstructed Information Network Editor：Tech Time：2025-06-26 10:22:55

Oil spills are Watch Leverage Onlinedisastrous for the environment, but a newly developed absorbent polymer could prove a novel cleaning solution.

Developed by Australian and European researchers, with details published in the journal Advanced Sustainable Systems, the material is actually a combination of used cooking oils and sulphur — the latter of which is a waste product of the petroleum industry.

SEE ALSO: New Zealand bans new offshore oil exploration to tackle climate change

Like a sponge, the polymer sucks up crude oil, which then can be squeezed and reused again. While there have been other sponge-like solutions to oil spills mooted in the past, this new polymer solution is created from waste products, which is of additional benefit to the environment.

"This application can consume excess waste sulfur that is stockpiled around the globe and may help mitigate the perennial problem of oil spills in aquatic environments," Justin Chalker, the research's lead and synthetic chemistry lecturer at Flinders University, said in a statement.

Sulphur and cooking oils are hydrophobic, which means they repel water, but they have an affinity for hydrocarbons like crude oil.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

As per a laboratory demonstration, it takes less than one minute for the polymer to absorb the crude oil, forming a floating cluster that can be then removed with a net.

In 2017 alone, there was approximately 7,000 tonnes of crude oil spilt by tankers into the ocean, according to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation.

Currently, there are several ways to clean up crude oil spills. If there is no risk of polluting coastal regions or marine industries, the oil can be left to break down naturally.

For heavier spills, the oil is contained with booms and skimmers that are deployed to remove the substance off the water's surface. Biological agents or dispersants can be introduced to speed up the oil's degradation.

When produced at scale, researchers anticipate the polymer to be an inexpensive solution to cleaning up oil spills, given the low cost of waste cooking oils and sulphur which forms the basis of the polymer. That low cost means it could be an effective solution for smaller, localised oil spills in countries where clean-up resources can be limited.

The world's largest oil spill, BP's Deepwater Horizon in 2010, released 4.9 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico, costing $61.6 billion to clean up.

"This is a new class of oil sorbents that is low-cost, scalable, and enables the efficient removal and recovery of oil from water," Chalker added.

Featured Video For You

Previous：Meta continues its submission to Trump with new advisor on its board

Next：The cicadas aren't invading the U.S.

Related Articles
Related Recommendations
Categories
Latest Articles
Popular Articles
Hot Recommendations
Featured Column

Quick Links

'Dear Ivanka' Instagram account is a candid call for action to Trump's daughterUK government is being trolled over a tweet about a bridgeGoPro is coming to terms with reality: It's just a camera company'Star Trek: Discovery' casts gay character, new alienTrump is tweeting about what will happen to his business empireWatch Obama age from kid to outgoing POTUS in secondsUK government is being trolled over a tweet about a bridgeCalifornia is cracking down on cow fartsYou can now watch every 'Harry Potter' film in 90 minutesCanadian police officers want to prevent drunk driving with Nickelback8th grader's Spotify playlist gets him in big trouble with momAmazon reportedly working on new Echo with 725 gifts for the cheeseLyft will give you an exact price now, not just an estimateThis is what it looks like when LGBTQ teens tell their own storiesThe Internet Archive to safeguard its collection in Canada because of TrumpAmsterdam's night mayor has an alternative for Sydney's lockout lawsExplainer: What Are Tensor Cores?Liam Payne and Cheryl are having a baby and One Direction fans are losing itCanadian police officers want to prevent drunk driving with Nickelback Watch Chloe Grace Moretz game alongside Rooster Teeth employees in new video series 10 'sexy' Halloween costumes that offend the animal kingdom If the Phillie Phanatic went to jury duty, so can you Reality TV show accused of 'casual racism' after face paint scene The Cleveland Indians just trolled Jose Bautista on Twitter No, baby boomers, millennials aren't poor because they eat smashed avocado Kanye West might have called out Drake for stealing stage design This Arabic billboard is massively trolling Donald Trump Ryan Lochte confuses Canadian Thanksgiving with a Jewish holiday Omran has not died in Aleppo strikes, but many other Syrian children have Man gets 20 years for shooting at George Zimmerman and the internet can't cope Watch this legendary granny rock out to an AC/DC cover band Apple doesn't need to build a car to get what it really wants Google Flights will now help you avoid sudden price increases The internet takes a page from Melania Trump and blames Billy Bush for everything Your iPhone's fingerprint sensor might soon unlock your car Stephen Colbert will go live on election night with a Showtime special An NHS patient is live According to Little Mix's new track, Zayn isn't as good at sex as he thinks he is Bob Dylan doesn't give a damn about your Nobel Prize

2.5606s , 8200.765625 kb

Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Watch Leverage Online】,Unobstructed Information Network  

Sitemap

Top

Quick Links