Treated sawdust may help sop up, burn off Arctic oil spills
Treated sawdust may help sop up, burn off Arctic oil spills
Dan Joling, Associated Press
Updated 8:46 pm, Wednesday, December 14, 2016
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Federal researchers looking for ways to contain petroleum spills in frigid Arctic waters are investigating whether a powder form of humble sawdust can provide a solution.
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are testing chemically modified wood flour to determine whether it can enhance the burning of crude oil after a spill.
Tests of small batches treated with components of vegetable oil indicate the material will grab onto crude oil and help keep it near the surface. PNNL senior research scientist George Bonheyo, who is also a research professor of bioengineering at Washington State University, calls the material "incredibly buoyant, ice repelling and water-repelling."
. . .
Environmental groups say challenges with cleaning an oil spill are amplified in the Arctic and it's one of their primary objections to drilling off Alaska's northern coast. The location is far from ports and other infrastructure taken for granted at drilling sites such as the Gulf of Mexico. Storms are fierce and Arctic waters can be open, frozen or partially covered with ice ranging from floes to slush.
http://www.chron.com/news/science/article/Researchers-modify-sawdust-as-possible-Arctic-oil-10796160.php
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Open up the Chukchi and Beaufort seas to drilling!
