Scientists from Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas together with colleagues have created environmentally friendly reagents that will be effective in collecting petroleum products, nia.eco reports.
When in contact with oil, the reagents will contract it, reducing the area of contamination. At the same time, the thin oil film, gathering into a denser conglomerate, will become more convenient for collection by skimmers or for incineration.
The reagent contains phospholipids obtained from ground soybeans and isobutyl alcohol. The extraction of phospholipids is inexpensive, and they themselves easily dissolve in the environment and do not lead to contamination.
"Our reagent is more effective than most known oil spill removal compounds, and it has the important advantage of being environmentally friendly because it is rapidly degradable. In the future, we plan to test a new composition for removing oil stains in natural conditions in order to take into account all the factors available in the natural environment, such as wind and currents," said Delgir Sanjieva, project leader, associate professor at the Department of General and Applied Chemistry at Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas.
Theoretically, the new reagents are ready for use in the Black Sea. However, in order for them to be used to collect fuel oil, it is necessary to test the reagents directly in the area of contamination, taking into account territorial and weather conditions, including a storm.
Alex Shishlo, Editor in Chief of the European Bureau, Rough&Polished
