What is currently in front of and on the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico happening is bizarre, not to put into words, just terrible. Since the Explosion of the platform, ” Deep water Horizon ” on 20 April flow from the borehole further large quantities of oil into the sea. BP tries to indicated that, by all means bring the leak under control and sucks continue with ships parts of the escaping oil.
In the fight against the oil – Pest approach, there are many possibilities. In addition to the arduous beach cleansing with minor technical aids chemicals are also used, which in turn negatively on the ecosystem. impact. These plants can take the oil from water and solids such as sand unsubscribe .
But there are ways out of the approach to clean the area of nanotechnology is already polluted coasts or Oil directly incorporated from the water surface. There is no ” panacea curb ” approach, but each of the disaster and may influence should be examined.
A company from Switzerland for example, offers such an excellent approach. Actually, in the company employs HeiQ Materials AG with dirt and antibacterial textiles. Sports or trekking clothing may reject water and dirt, and oils and fats are rejected by a special functional features. The so-called “Lotus effect “can have long established in the market. Corporations such as BASF and Bayer such additives or fibrous materials provide for further already many years. HeiQ material to the current event has a new nonwoven developed in the shortest possible time.
The company HeiQ Materials AG is in the next days, the feasibility of this technology, called the OilGuard , on a the contaminated beaches check. The Environmental Protection Agency EPA and the U.S. Army have visited it already received. The laboratory tests are promising.
But how does this innovation?
This is a nonwoven fabric of the German textile manufacturer TWE. Nonwovens are random orientation of loosely contiguous fibers consisting of animal, vegetable or chemical fibers. The fibers, the greater technical significance assigned. Depending on the property the fibers of polyamides (nylon, Perlon), polyesters or the usual Polymer compounds such as polypropylene, polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride. There are Fleece has the property by the capillary effect to absorb liquids. Because of the surface tension of liquids and the interfacial tension stretches the liquid into the fleece. We speak here of the Adhesion forces. A cleaning cloth, for example, works on this principle.
The company HeiQ material may by a special chemical the fleece of the partner company TWE change so that water, however, is rejected and only oil is absorbed into the fabric. This is possible if the fibers are functionalized. To reactive for example, silane compounds can then adhere to the hydrophilic cause or hydrophobic properties. Polyester fibers have no polymer bound reactive. By pretreatment with functional chemicals but can the necessary reactive groups are formed on the polymer which then serve as a target for the corresponding coatings. On it is thus possible, molecules or nanoparticles in the polymer structure infiltrate the substrate. These materials are tightly bound and will not be released to the environment. The transport function of chemical in the pulp is using simple physical methods causes (such as thermal rolling ).
The now so hydrophobic ( water repellent ) equipped Fleece ( OilGuard ) draws oil and grease into the inner structure of the tissue. Water can not penetrate and will be repelled. In the case of the ” Deepwater Horizon “catastrophe could now these nonwovens on beaches be designed in order to reduce further spread of the oil. Even already of oil -contaminated beach sections can thus potentially be cleaned. As, however, the chemicals company BP as a dispersion or clumping effect on the fleece is still uncertain.
According to HeiQ material might open a beach protection of 300 km length are produced per day. As the spent Mesh is then disposed of yet. A thermal recovery could his first choice. Also for the future should such barriers adhoc available. In the past 50 years, an estimated 4 million tons of oil due to breakdowns of oil tankers, pipelines damaged and accidents into the environment. Not included is the current case of the Deep water Horizon.
