City College of New York researchers led by chemist Professor George John have developed an eco-friendly biodegradable green "herding" agent that can be used to clean up light crude oil spills on water.

Derived from the plant-based small molecules abundant in the marine environment, the new substance would potentially replace chemical herders currently in use. According to John, "the best known chemical herders are chemically stable, non-biodegradable, and hence remain in the marine ecosystem for years. Our goal was to develop an eco-friendly herding molecule as an alternative to the current silicone-based polymers”.

Herding agents are surface-active molecules (surfactants) that when added to a liquid, such as seawater, reduce the surface tension. In the case of oil spills, when they are added along the periphery of an oil spill slick, they contract and thicken the slick or push slicks together so that they can be collected or burned.

Read the full story at Maritime Executive >>

Read more about oil spills >>