Novel material helps clean up Gulf oil slick

Chronicle of Higher Education : Osorb is a silica-based gel invented by Paul Edmiston, a chemistry professor at the College of Wooster in Ohio. Thanks to its affinity for hydrocarbons and its ability to expand while maintaining its integrity, Osorb is ideal for cleaning up oil slicks. As the Chronicle‘s Sophia Li reports, that’s just what it’s now being used for in the Gulf of Mexico.