Self-Driven Sustainable Oil Separation from Water Surfaces by Biomimetic Adsorbing and Transporting Materials

Abstract

Oil films on water are an increasingly major contamination problem worldwide. In 2020, we published a novel adsorption and transportation technology for oil–water separation based on biological role models like the floating fern Salvinia. This application provides an unexpected ability for the fast and efficient removal of oil films, particularly in ecologically important freshwater biota. A single small Bionic Oil Adsorber (BOA) with 1 m2 functional textile can collect up to 4 L of oil per hour, which equals about 100 m2 of oil film from a water surface into a collecting vessel. This is a safe, fast, and sustainable solution for the ubiquitous contaminations of, e.g., fuel oil in freshwater environments. Here, we present updated, new experimental data, and a review of the literature published since.

Keywords

• oil–water separation
• adsorption
• biomimetics
• superhydrophobic surfaces
• <i>Salvinia</i>
• Bionic Oil Adsorber (BOA)