New method to purify water used in oil refinement:
- Researchers at Purdue University in the US have developed a process to remove nearly all traces of oil in produced water.
- Method: The process uses activated charcoal foam and subjects it to solar light to produce heat and purify the water. The foam absorbs the oil contaminants from the water.
- Benefits of this method:
- This is a simple, clean and inexpensive treatment process.
- This is the first-of-its-kind method to do this purification in a single step simultaneously via a perforated foam.
- The oil absorbed by the foam can be recovered efficiently.
- The process could be integrated with existing disposal systems to purify a large amount of water and reduce the current stress on water grids.
