Create new materials to help treat the environment

On April 30th, a group of French and Australian scientists said they had made a new lightweight material that could be reused and especially absorbed by some. chemistry.

This is likely to be a new "weapon" in the fight against environmental pollution, especially water pollution.

The new material is ultra-thin boron nitride (a chemical compound also known as white graphene) that can absorb large amounts of oil, sprays or dyes emanating from the textile and paper industries. These plates have many small pores, which can float on the water as well as waterproof.

Once they are dropped into the surface of contaminated water, the plates immediately absorb oil and discolor. The process is very fast, only about two minutes and the oil is cleaned up. Once saturated, thin boron nitride panels can be easily removed, cleaned for reuse several more times.

According to the research team, commonly used materials to combat oil contamination, such as activated carbon or natural fibers, have much lower oil absorption than the new material. Meanwhile, other high absorbent materials are difficult to recycle.

The team says the cost of new materials and related technologies will be expected to have a major impact on environmental protection.