Glass Nanosponge to Remove Oil Sludge from Water

A glass nanosponge which can remove oil sludge from water has been discovered. This has huge implications for many nations troubled by water pollution.

To eradicate water pollution requires huge investments. For improverished countries, they cannot afford to do so and can only ignore the problem, to the detriment of its people who depend on the contaminated water for livelihood.

Dr. Paul Edmiston of the College of Wooster (a small private college in Wooster, Ohio) elaborates on the severity of this issue by explaining that, “organic solvents [and] pesticides… have infiltrated watersheds, making such water unfit for use by humans until the contaminating species are removed,” citing industrial, agricultural activity, and the widespread use of chemicals as the cause.

Fortunately, Dr. Edmiston has engineered Obsorb, a remarkable nano galss material that is chemically inert, hydrophobic, and able to absorb harmful organic materials.

Obsorb achieves purification of water by using an expanding nano matrix glass sponge to suck up harmful chemicals in a process that is completely reversible, meaning that it can be used over and over again. It is also much cheaper than existing solutions.

The glass can absorb 8 times its own weight, and maintain its structural integrity up to 20,000 times its own weight, making it ideal for large scale applications.

This breakthrough in using glass to eliminate impurities could lead to clean drinking water for many. I will say that the sky is the limit, if we really put our mind and money into researching clean technology.

[Daily Tech]

Paul is a geek who shares his thoughts on technology, gadgets, social networks and football in this blog. Stay in touch with his updates by subscribing to the RSS feeds or Email. Thanks for visiting Seventoten and leaving a comment.  To change this standard text, you have to enter some information about your self in the Dashboard -> Users -> Your Profile box.