Electromagnetic hazardous spill retention system

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Responding to emergencies involving spills of hazardous liquids is a time-critical process that can save lives and protect the environment. Currently, stopping a leak from a damaged vessel is limited to time-consuming manual approaches such as patching and plugging holes with inert materials such as wood, sand, plasters or specialized fabrics. The process is rendered more difficult when the liquids are under pressure, making the current approach ineffective. Recently, urethane rubber mats embedded with permanent magnets have been developed by Neothane Inc to instantaneously stop leaks from vessels made of ferrous metals, drastically improving the response time and outcome of emergency interventions. Unfortunately, many vessels used to transport hazardous liquids and gases use non-ferrous metals, making magnetic mats unusable. Electromagnetic interactions with non-ferrous metals are possible with alternating currents, and are exploited in braking systems and waste sorting facilities. Here, we will work with Neothane Inc to design specialized electromagnets so that they can provide a strong attractive force with non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, in order to create an active retention system for hazardous spills.