Paul Edmiston Develops Substance to Clean Up Toxic Liquid Spills

Two recent discoveries by Paul Edmiston, associate professor of chemistry at The College of Wooster, are likely to have major global implcations.

WOOSTER, Ohio - A collision between a supertanker and a barge off the coast of South Korea sent 65,000 barrels of thick, pungent crude oil gushing into the ocean last week in that country's largest-ever environmental calamity. Nearly 2,200 troops, police, and volunteers converged on the area to assist with the clean-up, which is expected to cost millions, but one day soon such disasters could be much easier to control and clean up, thanks to a discovery by Paul Edmiston, associate professor of chemistry at The College of Wooster.

Edmiston, who is also in the process of refining an explosive sensor he created that will aid in the war on terror, is currently testing a new substance that could restore the environment after catastrophic spills like the one in South Korea.

The substance, an absorbent material that is capable of neutralizing the effects of toxic liquid spills, whether in bodies of water or on dry land, resembles shavings of ground glass that swells to more than five times its size as it surrounds and "swallows up" various liquids. What makes the substance especially attractive is its resistance to water. Because it will not dissolve or swell in water, the substance is able to immobilize the contaminant and separate it from the water, which makes for easy extraction of what becomes a semi-solid material. Once the material is removed, the water left behind is fresh and clean. And if that's not enough, the substance can even release the eradicated liquid and return to its original form so that it can be used again for another clean-up effort - a feature that further benefits the environment.

The applications for Edmiston's swellable glass are numerous. Not only will it work against the type of spill in South Korea, but it will also work on dry land when, for example, a tanker breaks apart and floods a railway or roadway with toxic liquid. Once again, the substance can be used to prevent it from dispersing any further and then remove it so that it does not seep into the earth's surface. The material is so absorbent it can even be used to remove noxious vapors from the air.

Edmiston's substance is so remarkable, in fact, it is almost too good to be true, but the ultimate irony is that it was discovered quite by accident. One of Edmiston's former students, Colleen Burkett, was experimenting with different materials to absorb TNT while working with his explosive sensor when she discovered the absorption properties of the new substance.

Like all good scientists, Edmiston said, "What if we try this?" The answer may be one of the most significant environmental remediation technologies to date.