Sponge ball better absorbs oil spills

A local researcher developed an eco-friendly oil-absorbing ball that can help prevent the spread of oil pollution in oceans, the Ministry of Science and Technology said yesterday.

Developed by Chung Byung-yeoup, a researcher at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, the baseball-sized sponge ball is able to soak up four or five times more oil than existing non-woven fabric alternatives. In addition, the newly developed ball is renewable whereas the non-woven fabric should be burnt after one use, generating air pollution.

The oil-soaking ball, weighing 3 grams, is made of natural fiber called Kapok, and absorbs 120 to 180 milliliters of oil during the first use and up to 160 milliliters at the second and third use.

"If commercialized, tens of thousands of oil-soaking balls will be loaded into an oil-absorbing net, carried by a helicopter and dropped onto the oil-affected sea. There will be no worries regarding balls missing the target because an `oil tent` will immediately surround the slick when an oil-leak occurs," Chung said.

Oil spills in oceans seriously affect the eco system and it takes a lot of time and money for the affected area to fully recover. When oil spills occur, the speed at which the authorities take action is critical in reducing further oil pollution, the ministry said.

Korea once suffered large-scale oil pollution in 1995 when the domestic oil carrier Sea Prince spilled five tons of petroleum and bunker C oil in the South Sea near Yeosu, destroying 4,000 hectares of sea farms and costing 21.2 billion won to clean up.

The Korean peninsula`s West and South Sea are semi-closed by the Chinese continent, and the peninsula is thus quite vulnerable to oil pollution on sea waters, the ministry said.

"The newly developed oil-absorbing balls and the design of the net will be very helpful in removing oil. Moreover, it is economically efficient because Kapok (the material for the ball) is cheaper than cotton," said Choi Do-young, an official at the atomic energy department of the Science Ministry.

The ministry has supported Chung`s development of the oil-absorbing ball through its R&D program on atomic energy.

(yoonmi@heraldm.com)



By Kim Yoon-mi