The blowout of an oil well in the Gulf of Mexico is set to cover 120 miles of coastline and hence tremendously affect the ecosystem. The scale of such disasters has highlighted the need for effective and eco-friendly materials to contain oil spills. Here in, the investigators propose the sugar based environmentally benign phase-selective gelation agents for efficient containment of oil spills and recovery of oil as well. Phase selective oil gelators (PSGs), when added to an oil/water mixture, selectively partition into the oil phase and convert it into a gel. The proposal builds on recent preliminary results where a class of sugar amphiphiles derived from mannitol (an open chain sugar) has shown to be capable of selectively gel several oils. As shown in the image, the obtained oil gel (diesel gel) can be strong enough to hold not just its weight but also that of the water on top in the inverted vial. Selective gelation of diesel from bulk diesel water mixture and simultaneous recovery of diesel, with 80% efficiency, was demonstrated. Hence, they can be potential alternatives to the current oil spill remediation techniques. Therefore, we propose a) to conduct a comprehensive (fundamental and applied) study into the phenomenon of phase selective molecular gelation in relation to open chain sugar amphiphiles and b) to obtain design parameters (rationale) for optimizing the amphiphilic structure for better selective gelation ability and efficient oil spill clean up.
Intellectual Merit: The investigators focus on the fundamental science behind the phenomenon of phase selective gelation pertaining to oil spill applications. The goal is to construct rationale for generating bio-based PTh. The PIs hypothesize that open chain sugar head groups and hydrogen bonding interactions are likely to be important for selective gelation of oils. Hence, amphiphilic structure will be accordingly varied to obtain design parameters. The nanostructure of phase selective gels (characterized by TEM, SEM, and cryo-TEM) and intermolecular interactions in the gel (probed by spectroscopic techniques) will be systematically related to amphiphilic structure.
Broader Impact: The broader scientific impact will be the applications afforded by the inexpensive and eco-friendly phase selective gelators to be synthesized in this project. The phase selective gelation of oil from a mixture of oil and water could be a viable approach for the containment and remediation of oil spills on the ocean. In addition, the availability of phase selective gelators may allow engineers and scientists to devise ingenious uses for these molecules. The PI will also integrate their research with educational and mentoring activities.
The use of biomass as a resource for developing next generation materials is of current interest. Here, we present the use of renewable resource for oil spill recovery application. Large-scale oil spills cause irrecoverable damage to the environment and the ecosystem. We have conceptually demonstrated the utility of sugar-based amphiphiles in phase selective (oil) gelation from oil/water mixture. The primary goal of this project was to formulate biobased and eco-friendly materials for efficient remediation of oil spills. We optimized an enzyme-catalyzed synthesis of an environmental friendly and economically viable phase-selective gelator in good to excellent yield. In comparison to the chemical synthesis, enzyme catalyzed preparations are simple, regioselective and efficient. The utility of such amphiphiles in phase-selective gelation studies were completed using vegetable oils/crude oil fractions in water. Our results have shown that mannitol-based amphiphile to be best candidate for crude oil gelation. Preliminary studies showed the strong influence of hydrophobic-hydrophilic ratio and stereochemistry of sugar hydroxyl groups in the amphiphiles on phase selective gelation. The optimal gelation agents could be potentially achieved by careful molecular design/tuning the stereochemistry and hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) values. As part of the education/training, we have included postdocs, graduate, masters, and undergraduate students in this endeavor and train them as future scientists to contribute to the sustainable technologies. Intellectual Merit: This interdisciplinary research lends itself to a variety of important contribution to the scientific community including development of oil gelling agent by using easily accessible renewable resource and environmentally friendly starting materials. Broader Impacts of this research includes: 1 - Benefits to society: The broader impact will be generation of an affordable and efficient technology to contain disastrous oil-spills. Phase-selective gelation of oil from a mixture of oil and water could offer a viable approach for the containment and remediation of oil spills on the ocean. Therefore, the availability of phase-selective gelators may allow scientists to devise ingenious uses for these molecules. 2 - Broadening participation of underrepresented groups: Graduate and undergraduate students were involved in this project. All students are from the City College of New York, an accredited Postsecondary Minority Institution.The students received/trained as future scientists to contribute to the development of sustainable technologies.
