A NEW type of cellulose composite material which can turn spilled oil into a rigid floating gel that can be scooped out of the water has been developed by chemists in India.
Kana Suresan and Annamalai Prathap from the Indian Institute of Science, Education and Research (IISER) Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala sought to find an alternative to skimming or booming for oil spills in the sea. Such measures ore often ineffective due to how quickly oil can spread over a large area, or because of rapid emulsification of the oil in rougher waters. Recovering the oil in solid form would be much easier, and the researchers say that their new composite could provide a simple, cheap and environmentally benign solution.