Mopping up oil slicks the easy way

Published in Horizon, 10 Mar 2015

Engineers have successfully demonstrated a new technology to clean up oil spills, which could reduce the environmental danger of drilling for oil in cold, rough seas, such as those in the Arctic.

Many people remember vividly the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, when nearly five billion barrels of oil were emptied into the Gulf of Mexico. That disaster highlighted the inherent risk of drilling for oil, especially in deep wells and other difficult locations.

But while oil drilling has been finding new frontiers, the technology required to clean up spills has not. Today the most basic method is a primitive one: at least two boats cordon off an area of spillage with long booms, while a third boat moves inside to scoop the oil off the surface. […]

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