Oil spills are a very serious problem, and currently the methods used to 'clean up' the mess are really not at all quick and their effectiveness is still quite limited. While reading on New Scientist, I came across an article which shows some serious promise with respect to cleaning up oil spills.
Joseph Wang from the University of California showed how nanomachines could soon be a major player in an oil spill clean up. In the video, a micro submarine using chemical propulsion is covered in a layer of Thiol molecules which attracts oil. The sub then sails through a liquid and carriers the oil droplets with it.. demonstrating how this micro sub can move oil slicks in a controlled manner.
It's reported that the strength of the nano-sub's attraction to the oil molecules can be adjusted by changing the volume & composition of the coating used to attract the oil. The propulsion method will require some refining in order for this to be a practical solution for oil spill clean up however this does show great promise. Check out the link here for more information.
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