What do you do when you have more than 5,000 barrels of oil leaking into the open ocean each day? That's the million-dollar question facing BP, but for a small number of dedicated scientists, this doom and gloom scenario has been a font of inspiration. Some of their innovative approaches may surprise you.

 

Large oil spills are difficult to contain and even more difficult to clean up. Currently, the best methods for dealing with a spill involve skimming oil from the surface of the water or pushing it into confined slicks which can then be burned. The results are imperfect at best, but new technologies are offering some hope for a cleaner future.

 

One of the most radical ideas being researched is a new breed of genetically modified bacteria which can metabolize oil, essentially using it as food. These "superbugs" have been under development for years, but an efficient, stable and environmentally safe strain has yet to be perfected. More importantly, naturally occurring versions of these bugs already exist in the oceans and are probably munching on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill as I type. This leads many experts to question the value of adding artificial microbes to an already complicated clean-up. And bioremediation is no quick fix. It may take years for the bacteria to work their way through a large spill, leaving a slew of indigestible or unpalatable components behind.

 

Another idea which is currently being developed is the use of oleophilic matrices made from a combination of ceramic and plastic polymers. These sponges, sometimes called aerogels or aeroclays, attract oil molecules and repel water, enabling them to soak up spilled crude while leaving the ocean behind. They have the advantage of allowing the captured oil to be recycled, but commercial versions won't be ready in time to help with the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Check out this video showing David Schiraldi, an aerogel researcher from Case Western Reserve University to learn more about the power of plastic.

 

 

One of the most common means of dealing with an oil spill at the moment is the use of "booms" — long structures which corral spilled oil and contain it in specific areas. Once gathered, the oil can then be burned. The layer of oil that floats to the surface and burns, however, is typically very thin, meaning that only a small fraction of the spill is effectively removed in each burning. This led scientists to propose the use of superwetters, a class of chemical surfactants which contract the spill, pulling more oil to the surface, thickening the slick and enabling more to burn.

 

Like aerogels, the next generation of superwetters is still in development, leaving traditional cleanup methods as our best hope for managing the Deepwater Horizon spill. That hasn't stopped a few enterprising souls from trying to improve upon the tried and true, however. Matter of Trust, an eco-organization focused on surplus and sustainable systems, is currently collecting hair from people, pets and even alpacas, for use in oil-absorbing booms to be deployed in the Gulf. Take a moment to watch their video, below, which explains how your hair (or your alpaca's) can help clean up crude.