Sponge-Like "Swelling Glass" Absorbs Toxins in Water 93
MikeChino writes "A company called Absorbent Materials has created a new kind of 'swelling glass' that can clean up contaminated groundwater by soaking up volatile molecules like a sponge. Dubbed 'Obsorb,' the material can hold up to 8 times its weight in fuel, oil, and solvents without sucking up any of the water itself. Once the material is full it floats to the surface and the pollutants can be skimmed off."
Is there any there, there? (Score:2, Informative)
Spelling? (Score:5, Informative)
So which is it?
Re:And after absorbing all that gunk... (Score:3, Informative)
Well, it seems someone below you has posted a similar question, so it isn't as stupid as I thought.
The website link says (there are only 3 or 4 sentences there...):
...can be skimmed off. Afterwards, it can be dropped back into the water and reused hundreds of times.
So the idea is you use it to make contaminated groundwater drinkable, then suck out the concentrated toxins and dispose of it in a better place than drinking water.
Re:Skim the contaminants off the top (Score:4, Informative)
NSF Grant to Aid in Further Development of Water Purifying Substance [wooster.edu]
Looks somewhat legit, let's hope for their success...
Re:Is there any there, there? (Score:3, Informative)
Nope, that was pretty much it. I wasn't really sure what was going on. The summary was most of the article.
It is a neat idea, though. If it works, and is cheap, it could help many people in many places.
Re:Really short on details. (Score:5, Informative)
Google is your friend. Apparently, this all centers around the use of zero-valent iron (which seems to merely be atomic iron without any binding).More info here: http://www.clu-in.org/download/remed/542-f-08-009.pdf [clu-in.org] Warning: PDF. Apparently, this is a hot topic, and Osorb isn't the only material out there using nanoZVI for cleaning purposes.
Interesting stuff. Hadn't heard of it before.
Re:Is there any there, there? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:In depth explanation? (Score:3, Informative)
It might fill up with water. If that happens, then clearly the water was the contaminant.
Now you have considerably purified your water slick, leaving only pure environmentally-friendly petroleum in your bays. Think of how happy* the salmon, the seabirds, and the plankton will be!
*Claim void if it turns out that ocean life live in water, not petroleum. You mileage may vary.
Re:Sounds excellent. What will it cost? (Score:3, Informative)
This seems to be based on atomic iron in some form of nanoscale dust. As a result, its application seems to be much wider than just absorbing hydrocarbons. As an example, there are a few papers that studied the decomposition of atrazine in the presence of nanoZVI. Apparently,it's pretty successful.
Those are not "toxins" (Score:4, Informative)
They may be "toxic" but they are not "toxins". Example of toxin: Botox(TM), which stands for botulic toxin. A toxin is a toxic substance created by an organism.