Recently “oilzapper” was in the news. What is it?
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It is an eco-friendly technology for the remediation of oily sludge and oil spills.
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It is the latest technology developed for under-sea oil exploration.
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It is a genetically engineered high biofuel-yielding maize variety.
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It is the latest technology to control the accidentally caused flames from oil wells.
The Oilzapper developed by TERI (The Energy and Resource Institute, Govt of India) after seven years of research work and partly supported by the DBT (Department of Biotechnology), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, the Oilzapper is essentially a cocktail of five different bacterial strains that are immobilized and mixed with a carrier material (powdered corncob). Much as its savvy name suggests, the Oilzapper feeds on hydrocarbon compounds present in crude oil and oily sludge (a hazardous hydrocarbon waste generated by oil refineries) and converts them into harmless CO2 and water. The Oilzapper is neatly packed into sterile polythene bags and sealed aseptically for safe transport. The shelf life of the product is three months at ambient temperature.