Cleaning up oil using magnets
Tuesday, April 2, 2019 - 07:50
in Physics & Chemistry
In the future, it could be possible to remove oil spills on the surface of the ocean by using magnets. An interdisciplinary group of researchers at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) led by Prof. Dr. Marcus Halik has developed functionalised iron oxide particles that can attract any types of hydrocarbons. The magnetic particles and their shells can then be removed from the water relatively simply and in an environmentally-friendly manner and can even be reused after being cleaned.