EAGER: Novel Materials and Processes for Oil Spill Remediation

1140065 Dzenis目前从水中捕集石油的方法已被证明不足以清理墨西哥湾的泄漏。因此，迫切需要开发新的高效捕集材料和方法来捕集水面原油。理想的材料应该同时是疏水和亲油的，环境友好的，具有高吸油能力，并且容易从水面展开和收集。目前没有一种吸收剂能满足所有这些要求。本文旨在探索基于连续浸提技术的吸油材料的可行性。连续纳米纤维在效率、成本以及环境和健康问题方面可能具有传统吸收剂和不连续纳米材料的关键优势。该项目的目标是使用这些材料进行有效的石油收集的概念验证。将筛选几种候选材料，并探索和证明所选纳米纤维的纳米制造的可行性。它们的吸油性能将被验证和量化。最后，将研究和展示水面纳米纤维的应用和收集。该项目基于最近资助的MRI RAPID仪器项目。这些结果将为未来的深入研究提供必要的概念验证，从而产生具有革命性性能的新型超亲油/超疏水纳米材料。因此，这项研究可以对当前和未来的泄漏，特别是对困难的长期清理工作后，初步清理，并可以带来可观的经济效益产生重大影响。连续纳米纤维相对于其他纳米材料在其纳米制造的成本和容易性、其几何形状、性质和分级组装/架构的综合控制的可能性以及消除健康相关问题方面具有关键优势。目前，包括内布拉斯加州研究人员在内的学术、联邦和工业研究人员正在开发大量纳米纤维应用。在这项研究过程中开发的新方法和新材料将对这些发展做出重要贡献，并将确保美国在可持续发展研究中继续保持领导地位。一名博士后和几名研究生和本科生，包括少数民族（由不同来源资助）将获得高质量的跨学科研究培训，并将可用于竞争性就业。计划指导一个有抱负的博士后助理也介绍了

1140065DzenisCurrent methods of oil capture from water have proven inadequate in the Gulf of Mexico spill cleanup. There is a pressing need for the development of novel efficient materials and methods for capturing crude oil from water surface. An ideal material would be simultaneously hydrophobic and oleophilic, environmentally friendly, have high oil absorption capacity, and be easily deployable and collectable from water surface. No current absorbent satisfies all these requirements. It is proposed here to explore the feasibility of oil absorbing materials based on continuous nanofiber technology. Continuous nanofibers may have critical advantages to conventional absorbents and discontinuous nanomaterials in terms of efficiency, cost, and environmental and health concerns. The goal of this project is a proof-of-concept demonstration of the efficient oil collection using these materials. Several candidate materials will be screened and feasibility of nanomanufacturing of quantities of selected nanofibers will be explored and demonstrated. Their oil absorption performance will be verified and quantified. Finally, application and collection of the nanofibers from the water surface will be studied and demonstrated. This project builds on the recently funded MRI RAPID instrumentation project. The results will provide the necessary proof-of-concept for the future in-depth studies that can lead to novel superoleophilic/superhydrophobic nanofilamentary materials with revolutionary properties. As a result, this research can have significant impact on the current and future spills, particularly on the difficult long-term clean-up efforts after the initial clean-up, and can bring substantial economic benefits. Continuous nanofibers have critical advantages to other nanomaterials in terms of cost and ease of their nanomanufacturing, possibility of integrated control of their geometry, properties, and hierarchical assemblies/architectures, and elimination of health related concerns. A large number of nanofiber applications is being currently developed by academic, Federal, and industrial researchers including researchers in Nebraska. The new methods and materials developed in the course of this research will critically contribute to these developments and will assure continuing US leadership in the nanofiber research. One post-doc and several graduate and undergraduate students including minorities (funded from different sources) will receive high quality interdisciplinary research training and will be available for competitive employment. Plans for mentoring of an aspiring post-doctoral associate are also described