Removal of crude oil from highly contaminated natural surfaces with corexit dispersants

Current knowledge of approval procedures of dispersant use at sea: looking for potential harmonization from global to Mediterranean scale

Dispersants are approved for use in many countries (UK, South Korea, Australia, Egypt, France, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Norway, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, and several coastal African, South American, and Middle Eastern countries). Here, the protocols of the most advanced (France, Norway, UK, Spain, Greece, Italy, USA, and Australia) are compared for identifying possible harmonization of approval procedures. Pre-toxicity testing, recognized oil datasets, common thresholds, standardized protocols, zoning, and monitoring are some of the aspects that can be discussed between countries.

Indolocarbazole based polymer coated super adsorbent polyurethane sponges for oil/organic solvent removal

The synthesis of an indolocarbazole-fluorene based conjugated polymer (ICZP6), by Sonogashira coupling reaction, has been presented. The ICZP6 has then been integrated with a nano iron oxide embedded polyurethane foam (ICZP6PUF) to develop a promising adsorbent for oil/organic contaminants in aqueous systems. The anchoring ability of ICZP6 on to iron oxide PU sponge switches on significant hydrophobicity within the whole molecular assembly. The cooperative effects of ICZP6-iron oxide- PU sponge system have been highlighted in terms of structural, microscopic and wettability characteristics. The heterogeneity and hierarchical porous structure of the system offer a high adsorption capability for different types of oils and organic contaminants in water, typically in the range of 100-240 gg^-1. The performance of ICZP6PUF has been confirmed by the fast (within 5-10s) and choosy removal of selected oils and organic solvents from polluted water with the aid of an external magnetic field. The adsorbed materials (oil/organic solvents) can be separated from the adsorbent by simple mechanical squeezing without causing any structural deformation or performance deterioration; with a reusability of the system over 50 cycles. The adsorption isotherm has been found to fit well with the Langmuir model with R² = 0.9484. To extent the scope of the ICZP6PUF hybrid, an integrative logic gate has been designed.