Aerogel, aka frozen smoke
Aerogel also known as frozen smoke is hoped upon by many to one day be able to and filter wastewater and clean up things such as oil spills. What makes this solid able to do this is its absorbent qualities. One brand of aerogel by Nanogel was able to clean up oil quicker and in larger quantities than other materials which are more commonly used. Aerogel is able to soak up many organic compounds that can end up in wastewater from many different types of industrial plants. What makes this absorbent solid so amazing is that it has a large surface area and it is able to absorb up to 7x its own weight. Scientists from all over have tested aerogel by exposing some of to there own man made equivalents to wastewater. So far aerogel as come out on top doing very well. Some researchers are looking to use aerogel in other means besides oil spills. When compared to other methods of cleaning up spills such as sawdust eat sorb, bentonite, organoclay, reed canary grass and flax or hemp fibe aerogel as proven to be far superior. It unlike the others does not sink into the liquid but instead floats, and absorbs far more than the others.