Disasters on the scale of the Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon serve as harrowing reminders of the devastating effects uncontrolled oil spills have on the environment. Skimming, burning, and dispersing oil are only partially effective and carry their own ecological impacts. An enticing alternative strategy involves oil sorbents capable of efficient extraction of oil from water bodies, which in turn necessitates the design and implementation of novel materials.  To address this need, we created Oleo Sponge, a reusable sorbent fabricated from commercially available polymeric foam using sequential infiltration synthesis (SIS) followed by grafting of an oleophilic monolayer. The resulting material is superoleophilic and superhydrophobic. In bench-scale testing using 1” cubes, we demonstrate crude oil sorption on the order of 30 and 90 times the initial foam weight for polyurethane and polyimide, respectively, both with highly favorable reusability.  Next, we manufactured sufficient Oleo Sponge to cover a 50 square foot panel and subsequently tested this in a simulated marine environment at the National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility, Ohmsett. We find favorable performance for surface oil mitigation and, for the first time, demonstrate the advanced sorbent's efficiency and efficacy at pilot scale in extraction of crude oil and refined petroleum products dispersed in the water column. This is a potentially disruptive technology, opening a new field of environmental science focused on sub-surface pollutant sequestration.

Oleo sponge: Advanced oil sorbent prepared using sequential infiltration synthesis

2019 Fall National Meeting

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