Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

A team of Chinese scientists recently developed new magnetic particles that can separate oil droplets from water. The current technologies that are available for this separation technique are quite time consuming and not very efficient. The new magnetic particles discovered by the scientists can separate even the smallest oil drops from water in a small amount of time and that too very efficiently. Oil pollution has become a huge nuisance in recent years- with oceans having a record levels of oils in the water because of oil spills and several other reasons. According to the scientists, “Oils are usually classified as floating oils, dispersed oils, surfactant-stabilized oil droplets and surfactant-free micro-scaled tiny oil droplets.”

The study done by scientists from Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science under Chinese Academy of Sciences was recently published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials. These magnetic particles are being called hydrophilic/oleophilic magnetic Janus particles. Floating oils, dispersed oils and surfactant-stabilized oil droplets can and have been successfully and effectively removed from water, but separating micro-sized oil droplets from water still remains a task, if not difficult, but surely often overlooked by many. These extremely small oil-droplets have very little diameters- less than 20 micrometers. They are extremely stable in water and that makes the task of their separation quite cumbersome, especially if we employ traditional methods. According to the paper, the research team developed an “emulsion interfacial polymerization approach” to tackle this problem.

Researchers developed these magnetic Janus particles by emulsion interfacial polymerization and the interfacial assembly of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. They took a oil and water emulsion and then added the Janus particles to the solution and then shook the emulsion for about one minute. The previously stable emulsion formed layers. The upper oil layer then was attracted towards a magnet. How long did this entire process take? Surprisingly, only 2 minutes- thus making the process super efficient. Scientists also discovered that the particles also helped the micro-oil droplets come together as a whole- therefore making the separation easier. Janus particles could prove to be extremely beneficial for us for tackling issues like the cleansing of wastewater, especially industrial wastewater and they could also be employed in various water purification techniques.

By Purnima

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *