Oil spill from refineries in North Chennai, India has turned cyclonic floods into a toxic mixture. Michaung tropical cyclone in Bay of Bengal has battered the northern coast of Tamil Nadu and southern Andhra Pradesh bringing life to standstill since the weekend. As Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu is inundated with floods, areas like Ennore are witnessing thick oil contaminated polluted waters creating panic.
A collaboration between Texas Tech University and Aruppukkottai, India-based Jayalakshmi Textiles (https://today.ttu.edu/posts/2021/10/Stories/indo-us-collaborative-cotton-based-product-can-absorb-oil-spills-quickly-sustainably) has resulted in the translation of the oil absorbent technology from laboratory to market space. The product has been successful in field trials in Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s sites in Godavari and Cauvery delta regions. Cotton-based oil absorbent technology when scaled up will be cost effective. Such products have long shelf life and can serve as a countermeasure to oil pollution. The technology developed at Texas Tech University is field ready and support for scaling up by Jayalakshmi Textiles will result in the mass availability of a proven oil absorbent product.
Environmentally friendly technology developed at the Nonwovens and Advanced Materials Laboratory, Texas Tech University has shown in laboratory studies that one gram of cotton-based absorbent can absorb 30 to 50 grams of oil. The results with crude oil were disclosed, which attracted global attention (https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A3f992360-fa1e-40f7-8e44-f62c09ed0f17).
Given the recent oil spill in Chennai amidst heavy floods, warrants public sector oil refineries to engage with industry and research laboratories to develop sustainable oil and toxic chemical sorbents. It is a wakeup call for those involved in crude oil and disaster preparedness sectors.
