Cactus Spines Clean Oil Spills

Aug-11-13 Taking inspiration from the cactus, researchers have developed a design that could help to clean up oil spills.

The conic shape of cactus spines allows them to pull water out of the air and then guide the water toward the body of the plant for absorption. Researchers in China have built off this design by creating artificial spines from copper and other materials that perform the same function with oil while immersed in water. The device is meant to capture the microscopic oil droplets that react with the seawater to either float suspended just below the surface or sink to the ocean floor.

In tests, the device was able to extract up to 99 percent of the oil mixed with water, and was able to extract almost any type of oil.

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[PHYS.ORG]

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