Reflect The few basic types of chemical bonds account for the way different mate

Question

Reflect

The few basic types of chemical bonds account for the way different materials behave. The expanding field of materials science is using this knowledge to improve the performance of known materials in specific applications, or to develop entirely new compounds. Nanotubes, superconductors, ceramics, alloys, polymers, are just a few examples.

Activity

Do some research on one material being developed or recently introduced that is used in your work field, or that you find particularly interesting. Present the summary of your findings to the class, making sure your posting contains the following:

Why did you choose this particular material?

What did you learn from your research?

Sources (books, articles, websites) you collected information from.

Explanation / Answer

The fast development of modern society and the modern economy with an increasing demand for energy has prompted offshore oil exploitation and transportation. With the rapidly increasing use and transport of oils and chemical solvents, oil spillage and chemical leakage accidents occur frequently worldwide. Spilled oil is a menace to the aquatic ecosystem and the whole environment in general. (eg. Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, 2010). Once the oil is spilled at sea, it will naturally spread under the influence of wind, waves, and currents. In order to contain the oil at the spill site, recover the oil floating on the sea and clean-up any oil that might become stranded on the shore, there are a variety of techniques that can be employed. Some of them are as follows.

What do I propose?

An inelastic aerogel made of single-walled carbon nanotubes can be transformed into a superelastic material by coating it with between one and five layers of Graphene nanoplates. This newly formed material is Graphene carbon nanotube aerogel.

1. It has Ultralow Density and High Porosity. The high porosity of up to 99%.This increases its oil absorbing power.

2. Very strong and extremely elastic material. It can also absorb up to 900 times its own weight in oil and do so quickly.

3. Works in both extremely high as well as low temperatures.

4. It has high hydrophobicity (oil-loving and water repellant)

5. It is environment-friendly. Does not react with chemicals and oils. Does not harm the marine environment.

6.It is recyclable. Original shape can be recovered quickly after compression release

There are conventional technologies but each has disadvantages

Drawbacks –

                           - Expensive & labor intensive.

-Recovered oil needs further treatment.

-It requires perennial maintenance and is incompetent.

2. chemical recovery: Used in conjunction with mechanical means. Dispersing agents are used to keep oil from reaching shorelines and other sensitive habitats.

Drawbacks-

-Dispersants and dispersed oil particles are toxic.

-The effectiveness of dispersant is dependent on the type of oil spilled, weather conditions & how quickly the dispersant is applied onto oil slick.

           3.In situ burning: Reduces the amount of oil on water & is a quick response. To do it, responders corral some of the oil from the slick in a fire-proof boom, then ignite. Works best if the spill is fresh and the weather is calm.

Drawbacks-

-Wastage of precious oil resource.

-Causes air pollution and is thus harmful to life-forms too.

What did we learn from this?

1. As an absorbent, the CNT/GA aerogel exhibits Low Apparent Density, High Hydrophobicity, Superoleophilicity, High porosity.

2. The CNT/GA aerogels possess high sorption capacity, excellent recyclability, and high selectivity.

3. The sorption performance of CNT/GA aerogel can be maintained over a wide temperature range, from liquid Nitrogen to 400 degrees C, which extends its potential applications

Source

A quantum mechanical molecular dynamics study

Juuso T. Korhonen, Marjo Kettunen, Robin H. A. Ras, and Olli Ikkala; Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University School of Science (former Helsinki University of Technology), Puumiehenkuja 2, 02150 ESPOO, Finland

         cleanup of oil spillage and chemical leakage under harsh conditions Zhen-Yu Wu, Chao Li,     Hai-Wei Liang, Yu-Ning Zhang, Xin Wang, Jia-Fu Chen & Shu-Hong Yu

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