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Raw Cotton Might Help Clean Up Oil Spills

May 17, 2013

Softpedia - A new research paper documents the possibility of using raw cotton in order to clean up any accidental spills that might occur while the oil industry is busy carrying on with its working agenda. The study, made available to the public in the latest issue of the journal Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, argues that, apart from its being highly efficiency in terms of sopping up oil, unprocessed cotton is also an environmentally-friendly way of dealing with such accidents.

tags : Texas Tech in the News

Cotton effective in cleaning up oil spills

May 17, 2013

Process Engineering- Scientists report that each pound of raw cotton may be able to sop up more than 30 pounds of crude oil. Seshadri Ramkumar and colleagues note that a particular need exists for oil-spill sorbents that are abundantly available at relatively low cost, sustainable and biodegradable. There have been extensive studies on fibers such as barley straw, kapok and wool — but big gaps in knowledge about their basic crude oil-uptake mechanisms and no data on unprocessed raw cotton.

tags : Texas Tech in the News

Texas Tech Researchers Find Low-Grade Cotton Absorbs Crude Oil Spills; Repels Water

May 17, 2013

BioNews Texas - The 2010 Deepwater Horizon undersea oil well blowout off the Louisiana coast that dumped oil into Gulf of Mexico waters for 87 days, releasing an estimated at 4.9 million barrels of crude — the largest accidental spill in oil industry history — underscored the need for better and more efficient means of oil cleanup. This week the The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH) at Texas Tech University in Lubbock announced that research conducted at its Nonwovens and Advanced Materials Laboratory has discovered that low-grade cotton is highly effective at absorbing crude oil spills.

tags : Texas Tech in the News

TTU Reserach proves cotton useful as oil absorbents

May 17, 2013

Nonwovens Industry - When it comes to cleaning up the next massive crude oil spill, one of the best and most eco-friendly solutions for the job may be low-grade cotton from West Texas. Seshadri Ramkumar, lead author of the study and manager of the Nonwovens and Advanced Materials Laboratory at The Institute of Environmental and Human Health (TIEHH), says he and his colleagues found that low-micronaire cotton—one of the lowest-quality types of cotton – is most effective at picking up oil. A pound of the low-micronaire cotton can pick up more than 30 pounds of crude oil, and its natural waxiness helps to repel

tags : Texas Tech in the News