SEQUIM, Wash., Dec. 12 (UPI) -- Cleaning up oil is difficult. Cleaning up oil in the stormy, ice-filled seas of the Arctic is even harder. As sea ice melts and fossil fuel extraction shifts northward, oil spells will inevitably follow.
Researchers Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a new oil spill cleanup material optimized for the harsh conditions of the Arctic -- chemically treated sawdust.
Scientists began by attaching vegetable oil components to the surface of wood flour, the fine sawdust leftover from woodworking. The treatment makes the sawdust shun water and absorb oil.
Importantly, the sawdust is extremely buoyant. In the Arctic, ice and rough water can push oil beneath the surface. The buoyancy of the sawdust keeps the oil on top.
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The oil-absorbing wood flour is can also support in-situ burning. Instead of retrieving and disposing of oil-absorbing material, difficult cleanup conditions sometimes require oil to be burned. The strategy is a quick and efficient way to get rid of oil before a spill damages vulnerable ecosystems.
Researchers tested their new material on a manufactured oil spill inside a shipping container customized to replicate the frigid conditions of the Arctic.
As tests revealed, a small sprinkle of dust goes a long way -- absorbing up to five times its weight in oil. The dust's water-repellant qualities prevent ice from forming and pushing the oil-soaked dust beneath the surface. The dust can stay afloat for four months.
"The chance of an oil spill in the Arctic is real," PNNL microbiologist Robert Jeters said in a news release. "We hope materials like our modified sawdust can help if an accident happens."
