When the Deepwater Horizon drilling pipe blew out seven years ago, beginning the worst oil spill in U.S. history, those in charge of the recovery discovered a new wrinkle: the millions of gallons of oil bubbling from the sea floor weren't all collecting on the surface where it could be skimmed or burned. Some of it was forming a plume and drifting through the ocean under the surface.
Now, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory have invented a new foam, called Oleo Sponge, that addresses this problem. The material not only easily adsorbs oil from water, but is also reusable and can pull dispersed oil from the entire water column—not just the surface.
"The Oleo Sponge offers a set of possibilities that, as far as we know, are unprecedented," said co-inventor Seth Darling, a scientist with Argonne's Center for Nanoscale Materials and a fellow of the University of Chicago's Institute for Molecular Engineering.
Argonne invents reusable sponge that soaks up oil, could revolutionize oil spill and diesel cleanup
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday March 08 2017, @01:25PM (2 children)
The epic fail of the Dakota protests is they wouldn't compromise and they're not going to make the western world give up oil, so you almost wonder if outside agitators screwed the protestors by not compromising.
Like... if they stomped their feet and demanded the river only be crossed by quadruple thick titanium in a concrete tunnel with a million gallon spillway to catch any leaks, they might have gotten perhaps half that, and it would be the safest river crossing on the planet. But no, they stomped their feet like babies and pouted to "shut it down" so the inevitable result is "F you we're doing it our way". They could have gotten a lot out of those protests... stuff thats actually environmentally good... instead they got nothing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 08 2017, @02:22PM (1 child)
That would be your verdict no matter what option they'd chosen. If they attempted to compromise, then you'd be saying that they didn't get any part of what they were asking for because they had no spine.
(Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Wednesday March 08 2017, @05:01PM
And that's exactly what you'd say about a *person* who said something reasonable about a specific topic that you cannot disagree with because you have no argument.
The art of deal-making is dead in this country. Kids who are now adults are used to stamping their feet and getting their way.