NASA Green Technology to Revolutionize Oil Spill Clean Up

NASA space technology has provided a brilliant solution To massive oil spills such as that experienced by the Exxon Valdez incident.

The technology, essentially highly absorbent hollow spheres of beeswax, immediately binds with hydrocarbons and provides nutrients to naturally occurring microbes. The feeding microbes then create enzymes that biodegrade contaminants.

A Pittsburg based firm, UniRem working with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Marshall Space Flight Center, has developed the new  hydrocarbon remediation tools using its Petroleum Remediation Product (PRP) that can be spread on water or soil to absorb, contain, and safely dispose of hydrocarbon pollutants.

The basic delivery system grew out of NASA biological encapsulation research and the orbital production of microspheres so uniformly precise they provide calibration standards for scientific and industrial equipment.

PRP was inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame in a ceremony during the 24th National Space Symposium earlier this year.

“It is nice to know that UniRem’s application of cutting edge space technology is at work keeping our home planet healthy,” said Kevin Cook, director of Space Technology Awareness for the Space Foundation.

Posted by Casey Kazan.

http://www.earsc.eu/news/space-technology-offers-surprising-solution-to-oil-spills\
http://www.comspacewatch.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=26078

Comments

[NWalker]

Now what do we do when the beeswax is gone?