Stevens Institute of Technology

Wei Xu

Eui-Hyeok Yang, Jr

Brendan Englot

Chang-Hwan Choi

Jian Xu

Ronald Besser

Smart membranes are integrated into a small, unmanned surface vessel to enable the efficient, automated cleanup of oil spills. Such a vessel has the potential to provide a low-cost, modular solution for day-to-day oil-spill cleanup operations, especially in confined aquatic areas (e.g., under piers or in the small spaces between marine vessels and piers). The membranes are provided on the surface of a conveyor belt that circulates the membranes through the surrounding body of water for oil collection, as well as through an internal reduction chamber of the vessel for oil release. The smart membranes are adapted to attract and repel oil in response to low-voltage commands applied across the conveyor belt, using a process that is repeatable for a number of cycles, offering high efficiency and long durability. Segments of the conveyor belt can be electrically isolated from one another to allow disparate electrical potentials to be imposed thereon.

In situ oil cleanup and recovery using smart polymer integrated surface vessels

Smart membranes () are integrated into a small, unmanned surface vessel () to enable the efficient, automated cleanup of oil spills. Such a vessel () has the potential to provide a low-cost, modular solution for day-to-day oil-spill cleanup operations, especially in confined aquatic areas, such as under piers and in the small spaces between marine vessels and piers. The smart membranes () are provided on the surface of a conveyor belt () that circulates the membranes () through the surrounding body of water () for oil collection, as well as through an internal reduction chamber () of the vessel () for oil release. The smart membranes () are adapted to attract and repel oil () in response to low-voltage commands applied across the conveyor belt (), using a process that is repeatable for a number of cycles, offering high efficiency and long durability (FIG.).

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Farmingdale, NY, United States of America

Wei Xu