Laying Waste To Oil Spills

Attribution:
Sustainable Polysulfides for Oil Spill Remediation:
Repurposing Industrial Waste for Environmental Benefit
Max J. H. Worthington et al., 2018
Advance Sustainable Systems
https://doi.org/10.1002/adsu.201800024

Video by: Animate Your Science (www.animateyour.science)

Transcript:

Each year, oil spills pollute oceans, ports, and waterways—damaging precious ecosystems and economic activities. Fish, birds, whales, and even ourselves can be severely harmed by this pollution. Large-scale spills, like the notorious Deepwater Horizon, can release thousands or even millions of barrels of oil into the environment. However, smaller and more frequent spills of oil are also a serious problem around the globe, especially in coastal areas near pipelines and refineries.

Too often, oil spills occur in parts of the world that have limited economic resources. Therefore, it is critical to develop an oil-absorbing material that can be produced from cheap and sustainable building blocks. Such material should also absorb oil rapidly and float on water so that it is easy to recover after capturing the oil.

Fortunately, an international team of scientists has cooked up a solution to these problems by reacting used frying oil with sulfur, a waste product of the petroleum industry. The reaction forms a new type of rubber polymer that removes crude oil from water. The rubber particles can be added directly to the spill or they can be used in a filter. In both cases, the oil captured by the polymer can be recovered by simple compression—just like a sponge. Then, the polymer can be re-used.

This study is important in two ways: it reveals an innovative way to re-purpose waste and provides an inexpensive material for cleaning up oil spills. These discoveries are promising advances that will benefit the environment in areas where support is needed most.