MIT Develops Way to Magnetically Separate Oil from Water
After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, it seemed everyone was on the brink of discovering the definitive method for separating oil from water. Hair. Straw. Sand. A lot of suggestions were thrown out there by the happy-to-help public.
Now the bright minds at MIT say they've developed a new technique using magnets, which they hope will be used in future, should such a catastrophic event occur again.
During their research, the MIT team "used water-repellent ferrous nanoparticles mixed in with the oil, in order to separate it later with magnets," reports Inhabitat. The nanoparticles can be reused once they have been magnetically removed from the oil.
Now the bright minds at MIT say they've developed a new technique using magnets, which they hope will be used in future, should such a catastrophic event occur again.
During their research, the MIT team "used water-repellent ferrous nanoparticles mixed in with the oil, in order to separate it later with magnets," reports Inhabitat. The nanoparticles can be reused once they have been magnetically removed from the oil.
