An innovative plastic boat utilizing macroscopic openings for efficient oil spill cleanup on water

Oil leak accidents result in considerable water contamination, severely impacting both the environment and the economy. Thus, prompt and effective responses to clean up oil spills are essential. In this research, an innovative device-a plastic boat-is developed to collect spilled oil on the water surface. The boat features macroscopic openings in its sidewalls. The openings are arranged in rows at varying heights to continuously and efficiently collect the spilled oils. To improve its buoyancy and increase the amount of oil collected, the boat with a hollow structure is designed. It can be rapidly, effortlessly, and economically fabricated using a three-dimensional printing method with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic. The boat's surface is first treated with nano-ceramic liquid and a brushing technique to attain optimal hydrophobicity, resulting in a water contact angle of 114.5°. Then it was coated with oil to enhance the oleophilicity and oil wettability further, reaching an oil contact angle of 33.9°. We demonstrate that the boat selectively and effectively retrieves spilled oils across a broad range of viscosities (2.0-1000.0 cSt at 25-40 °C). Remarkably, it can collect oil spills not only on calm water surfaces but also on wavy water surfaces, and the retrieved oils are free from any water contamination. Additionally, it exhibits exceptional reusability. Given these attributes, the developed device is an outstanding candidate for practical oil-cleaning applications.