Partnerships and Technology Transfer

Technology Summary

The spillage of oil into the environment is an ongoing concern. Marine oil spills draw much attention because the oil harms marine animals and floral life. Current methods to aid in oil cleanup include containment booms, oil skimmers, and dispersants. Many of these techniques may not be very effective and may also harm aquatic life.

The Invention

EMOP is a simple, environmentally-safe method to clean up, recover, and manipulate spilled oil in water and on other surfaces. Additionally, it provides a solution to contain, control, and possibly stop oil leaks. The system uses a patented electromagnetic boom for use in conjunction with a method for magnetizing oil.

Chemical Dispersants are a trade-off between exposing coastal life to surface oil and exposing aquatic life to dispersed oil. Traditional containment/diversion booms are very commonly used but they alone cannot actually recover the oil. Additional machinery is necessary to aid in getting the oil out of the water such as oil skimmers. Other things such as large waves and wind can make the oil slip under or over the boom causing it to become ineffective. Absorbent booms, on the other hand, are useful in absorbing the oil in water but their downfall is that they become ineffective once they have become saturated with oil. Centrifugation is energy intensive and in-situ burning of the spilled oil is both dangerous and dirty.

Benefit

EMOP replaces the aforementioned systems in a non-toxic, safe, and efficient manner while increasing the efficiency of the remediation process. Magnetite is cheap and natural; it can be removed from the reclaimed oil and reused.

Applications and Industries

• Electromagnetic Boom/Pump
• Wild-life cleaning
• Produced water hydrocarbon remediation