Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 5, 2026

Chemical Analysis of Water-accommodated Fractions of Crude Oil Spills Using TIMS-FT-ICR MS
Published on: March 3, 2017
Hydrogel bowls for cleaning oil spills on water
Van Tron Tran1, Xiubin Xu2, Md Tariful Islam Mredha1
1School of Mechanical Engineering, Chonnam National University, 77 Yongbong-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
We demonstrate a hydrogel bowl capable of selectively and rapidly collecting spilled oil while floating on water. The bowl has macroscopic openings in its sidewall, and its surface is first coated with octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) and then with diffusion pump oil, which imparts exceptional hydrophobic, oleophilic, and high oil wettability properties. The use of a hydrogel makes it possible to obtain surface hydrophobicity and oleophilicity, while also being inexpensive, eco-friendly, and easy to fabricate. Using a prototype of the bowl and a small pump system, we demonstrate that oils with a broad range of viscosities (2.7-2000.0 cSt at 20-40 °C) are more rapidly and efficiently collected from the surface of both pure water and seawater than with any other reported technique. The hydrogel bowl can collect oil for more than one month without losing its efficiency and can be stored in oil for reuse. Therefore, such hydrogel bowls represent a new alternative to conventional oil spill remediation techniques.
Related Concept Videos
Cleaning, Sterilization, and Disinfection
Cleaning
The cleaning process usually involves using water with detergents or enzymatic cleaner and removing foreign material from objects and surfaces, including organic material such as body fluids or inorganic material like soil. Cleaning is performed before high-level disinfection and sterilization because foreign materials on the cover of the devices interfere with process...
States of Water
Water freezes when the intermolecular forces are greater than the kinetic energy. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state. This is because each water molecule can form...
The Water Cycle
Design Example: Flow of Oil Through Circular Pipes
Water and Mineral Acquisition
Quality of Water

