Over the years, we have experienced many devastating oil spills, including the Gulf of Mexico and Exxon Valdez spills where thousands of innocent marine lives were killed and many were seriously injured. In addition, the oil contamination has spread into the food chain where the effects have been severe and long lasting.
Accidents do happen. Even the smallest oil spills needs to be promptly dealt with so that they don't contaminate the natural water streams, storm water systems or even the water supplies. It takes just one liter of oil to contaminate 1 million liters of drinking water.
Oceans are polluted by oil on a daily basis from oil spills, routine shipping, run-offs and dumping. Every year, nearly 100,000 gallons of oil end up in the oceans as a result of spills. Marine ecosystems continue to be vulnerable to these oil spills.
The technologies used until now, such as the use of oil dispersants, recovering of oil with low efficient absorbents, skimmers and burning of surface oil are expensive and can cause severe environmental damages.
Nevertheless, new advanced solutions are now available, thanks to the scientific progress in nanotechnology.
Ivano Aglietto is an Italian engineer with a PhD in Environmental Engineering. He has devoted his profession for the production of most advanced and innovative nanostructure carbon materials and the industrial development of their use in applications for the environmental remediation.
Ivano Aglietto, after the successful results with RECAM, moved on to the next level, with the proposal of developing a new, powerful, eco-friendly, innovative solution for oil spill remediation : NAIMOR® (NAnostructure Innovative Material for Oil Recovery)
- NAIMOR is a new, three dimensional, carbon nanostructure material. It can be produced in different shapes and dimensions. It is highly hydrophobic, light, strong and flexible. Can absorb a quantity of oil around 150 times its weight. Can be reused many times without losing its absorption capacity.
- Floating carpets of NAIMOR are distributed over the spill area and left there until they are completely saturated of oil. Once the oil is absorbed into the three dimensional nanostructure of NAIMOR, it can no longer be released into the water.
- Once saturated by oil, the carpets are fed to a squeezing process that allows the recovery of collected oil. Thanks to the fact that NAIMOR is a material completely hydrophobic and the oil recovered is free of water, thus becoming a useful resource.
- After the regeneration process, the carpets of NAIMOR can be reused several times with obvious economic and environmental advantages.
- NAIMOR can be produced in long sheets that are moved over the sea by a drone boat with remote control. The drone unrolls the sheet and starts to recover the oil moving through the oil spill area.
- When the sheet is completely saturated by oil, a sensor that measures the weight of the carpet sends an alarm and the sheet is rolled up.
- With the squeezing process, the oil is collected into a tank inside the drone boat, completely free of water and can be reused.
- After the regeneration process, the long NAIMOR® sheet is unrolled again to start collecting the oil.
- The nanostructure of NAIMOR® can be also be produced in a cylindrical shape. Booms are moved on the surface of water by boats and they not only confine the oil spill front but also absorb the oil with the double effect of confinement and absorption action.
- It can absorb a quantity of oil equal to 150 times its weight.
- It can be reused many times.
- It recovers the oil completely free of water content.
- It does not use chemicals.
- It does not produce any kind of waste.
- It is inert and user-friendly.
- It is a cost effective and environmental friendly solution for oil spills.
Support us at Indiegogo to make NAIMOR® a reality - www.igg.me/at/naimor/x/3906831
To know more about NAIMOR®, visit - www.naimor.com
To know more about the NAIMOR® Inventor, Ing. Ivano Aglietto, visit - www.ivanoaglietto.me
For any queries and suggestions, contact Ing. Ivano Aglietto - ivano@naimor.com
