Saeid Mokhatab and Brian Towler of the University of Wyoming suggest nanotechnology could help extract more fuel and feedstock hydrocarbons from dwindling resources. However, they caution, industry inertia and a lack of awareness of the benefits of nanotechnology might result only in a missed opportunity.

Mokhatab and Towler said nanomaterials, such as nanotubes, might be used to improve the efficiency of extraction of a wide variety of hydrocarbon fuel compounds and chemical feedstocks. Similarly, they said related nanomaterials might be used to improve purification and storage of hydrocarbons, as well as in environmental remediation, allowing contaminated sites to be cleaned of harmful pollutants.

"The past decade has seen explosive growth worldwide in the synthesis and study of a wide range of nanostructured materials, the building blocks of nanotechnology," they said. "Investigations of mechanical, chemical, electrical, magnetic and optical behavior of nanostructured materials have demonstrated the possibilities to engineer the properties of these new materials for a wide range of applications."

They report their study in the Journal of Nanotechnology.