Sea-Cleaning Project Using Polyurethane-Modified Sponge

Bursa Teknik Üniversitesi (BTÜ) continues to support those who want to convert knowledge into value through its academic staff and technical facilities.

A project titled "Cleaning Petroleum Derivatives by Modifying with Polyurethane Material Using Hydrophobic Properties of Eggplant," prepared by Bursa Işıklar Askeri Hava Lisesi 11th grade students Utku Sarıışık and Ahmet Demirdaş, won first place in the Regional Final of the TÜBİTAK 47th Secondary School Student Research Projects Competition held in Eskişehir. The project also won a Third Prize Award in the Chemistry category at the National Competition, where 12 fields and a total of 221 projects competed. Prepared under the supervision of Captain İsa Deliacı and with the support of BTÜ Fiber and Polymer Engineering Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hasan Basri Koçer, utilizing BTÜ Laboratories, the sponges containing "eggplant powder" developed within the project scope are 2-3 times cheaper than absorbent barriers, granules and sorbent pads used in cleaning petroleum derivatives that somehow contaminate seas, and can absorb 18 times their own weight in petroleum derivatives. The students, who revealed an unexpected property of eggplant, stated: "In our experiments, we observed that eggplant does not absorb water, but rapidly absorbs petroleum and its derivatives. The simplest proof of this is that when our mothers fry eggplant, they process it last because it absorbs so much oil. The sponge formed by bringing together eggplant powder absorbs 18 times more petroleum waste than its own weight. With this discovery of ours, marine pollution caused by oil spills from tanker accidents in the seas can be prevented. Additionally, a polyurethane-modified sponge has been produced that can add value to the country's economy and serve as an alternative to strong absorbents in the market," the students said. The students noted that as a result of the positive values obtained in the project, they passed the first stage in the patent application filed with the Turkish Patent Institute and are now waiting to pass the final two stages to bring their product to market.