Nano technology "kitchen towel" may become the greener alternative to bombs and detergent as a remedy for oil spills as researchers invent the super-absorbent membrane.

The "kitchen towel" is a wafer-thin sheet made from nanowires and acts as a kind of blotting paper which can absorb oils and other impurities. The sheet itself can absorb up to 20 times its own weight, and is impervious to water - it remains dry even when submerged in water for long periods of time. However, it is able to soak up oil and petrol (along with numerous other chemicals and impurities) which can later be removed and disposed of safely.

Researchers claim that huge sheets can be made of the nanowire material, effectively becoming "towels" which can be dragged through the sea - or dropped into it - to soak up major oil spills. The membrane can then be taken onto dry land where it is heated to release the environmentally harmful oils and chemicals. This can be done repeatedly without compromising the quality or efficiency of the material for future use. With over 200,000 tonnes of oil being spilt in the last decade alone, it is easy to see how future applications of the invention would considerably improve the current environmentally hazardous state of the world's oceans and seas.

It has been suggested by the researchers that this nanowire technology will also be useful in ponds and rivers which have been affected or damaged by contamination.

The invention was unveiled in the Nature Nanotechnology Journal - its researchers from the United States, Singapore and Japan say it has the potential to separate any one chemical from another. The journal article states: "given the global scale of severe water pollution arising from oil spills and industrial organic pollutants, this study may prove particularly useful in the design of recyclable absorbents with significant environmental impact."

Dr. Francesco Stellaci of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology led the research to develop a material from potassium manganese oxide nanowires - each strand measuring a staggeringly minute 20 nanometres across (20 billionths of a metre). Lab tests run by the Institute proved the material to be successful in soaking up petrol floating on top of jars.

The nanowires themselves are coated with a hydrophobic coating to give them the ability to repel water while simultaneously allowing oil and other impurities to be soaked up by the tiny pores of the fibres.

After reading the report, Dr Joerg Lahann of the University of Michigan said their research confirms "the potential of nanomaterials for protecting the
environment."

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