RAPID: Natural-Based Absorbent for Crude Oil Spill Cleanup

这项提议是为了响应美国国家科学基金会对墨西哥湾漏油事件进行快速反应研究的号召。PI参与了由高粱制成的天然塑料的专利研究。结果表明，由某些高粱品种制成的粉末可以有效地用作吸收剂，以去除有机基物质(如汽车油)。拟议研究的核心是将这种天然材料的吸收特性与现有技术相结合，将其塑造成一种多孔海绵状材料，用于去除海水环境中溢出的原油。这项拟议工作的目标是开发一种经济上可行的、以自然为基础的吸收剂来清理漏油。拟议的快速研究的目的是确定和量化拟议的天然基吸附剂的关键参数，以便能够实现对当前墨西哥湾漏油事件的快速实施。实现这一目标的方法是应用比较不同参数(载荷、大小和结构等)的基本台架试验设计。在模拟的原油和海水系统中。实验数据将被用来评估该方法的经济商业可行性。对这种泡沫状(海绵状)的高粱材料进行的初步测试表明，它可以吸收高达自身重量12到20倍的模拟原油。通过优化某些关键参数，PI可以增强这种基于天然的吸油潜力，从而提供快速且经济实惠的吸油水平。这种材料可以在泄漏现场制造，从而消除了与轻质物质相关的储存和运输成本。此外，有可能从吸收剂(不包括在本研究中)中回收相对较大的一部分(高达80%)的吸收油。初步计算表明，回收油的价值可能高于吸收剂和采油作业的成本。毫无疑问，目前这种规模的石油泄漏不仅威胁着人类、动物和植物，还可能对环境造成不可挽回的破坏。如果能够确定和优化影响所提议的基于自然的、具有成本效益的解决方案的吸收潜力的关键参数，则所产生的技术可以应用于其他环境，例如沼泽地。这是因为吸收材料可以设计成不同的尺寸和物理结构(平面、圆柱形等)。并且处理可以为应用条件提供某些有吸引力的特性。这两个私人助理都有在他们的研究项目中与研究生和本科生合作的记录。他们还活跃在几个工程专业协会的学生分会，并参加了招收TTU代表人数不足的学生的高中项目。这项研究的结果将以各种形式传递给公众，包括：同行评议的出版物、BP官员、能源部和其他适当的论坛。

1057438HooThis proposal is in response to the NSF's RAPID call for quick response research to the oil spill in the Gulf. The PIs have been involved in proprietary research on natural based plastics made from sorghum. It was shown that a powder made from certain sorghum varieties can be used effectively as an absorbent to remove organic based materials (e.g., car oils). The core of the proposed research is to combine the absorption properties of this natural based material with existing technology to shape it into a porous sponge-like material to be used to remove crude oil spilled in a seawater environment. The goal of the proposed work is to develop an economically-viable, natural-based absorbent to clean up oil spills. The objective of proposed RAPID study is to identify and quantify the key parameters of the proposed natural based absorbent such that quick implementation can be realized to the current Gulf oil spill. The method to achieve the objective is to apply basic bench scale design of experiments that compare different parameters (loadings, size and structure, etc.) in a simulated system of crude oil and seawater. The experimental data will be used to assess the economic commercial viability of the method. Intellectual Merit Preliminary tests of the sorghum-based material in the shape of a foamy (sponge-like) absorbent have shown that it can absorb simulated crude oil as much as 12 to 20 times its own weight. By optimizing certain key parameters, the PIs can enhance this natural based absorbent potential to provide rapid and cost effective oil absorption levels. The material can be made at the site of the spill, thus eliminating storage and transportation cost associated with light weight substances. Moreover, there is the potential to recover a relative large portion (up to 80%) of the absorbed oil from the absorbent (not included in this study). Preliminary calculations show that the value of the recovered oil may be higher than the cost of the absorbent and the recovery operation. Broader Impact Without a doubt, an oil spill of the current magnitude threatens not only the human, animal and plant but also can cause irreparable damage to the environment. If the key parameters that affect the absorbent potential of the proposed natural-based, cost-effective solution can be identified and optimized, the resulting technique can be applied in other environments, for example, marshlands. This is because the absorbent material can be engineered in different sizes and physical structures (planar, cylindrical, etc.) and processing may provide for certain attractive properties for the application conditions. Both PIs have a track record of working with graduate and undergraduate students in their research programs. They also are active in the student chapter of several engineering professional societies and participate in high school programs that recruit underrepresented students to TTU. The outcomes of this study will be transmitted to the public in various forms including: peer-reviewed publication, to BP officials, DOE, and other appropriate forums.