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C O V E R S T O R Y
3. Magnetic soap may clean Tainted Water
During the incident in the Gulf of Mexico, dispersants were the most
commonly utilized weapon against the oil spill. Almost 3 million
liters of dispersants and soaps were used in the clean-up effort.
Apparently, this is a lesser evil as dispersants do not easily break
down in the environment.
Luckily, scientists from the University of Bristol have developed a
new, iron-rich salty soap that reacts to magnetic forces once it is in
the water. This ingenious compound, when placed in a solution, rises
to the surface of the water, dragging the oil with it. The research is
still theoretical, but experts hope that it’s the first step toward a new,
important cleaning formula.
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