Nanotech Can Clean Oil Spills Within Hours, Says Scientist 

 A Nigerian environmental scientist, Mr Suka Monta, has claimed a major breakthrough in tackling oil pollution, unveiling what he described as a “permanent solution” capable of restoring contaminated environments within hours.

Speaking on the Energy and Maritime Roundtable in Port Harcourt, Monta said the technology, developed after over three decades of research, uses organic-based nanotechnology to rapidly neutralise hydrocarbon pollutants in soil and  water.Bottled Water

“There is no problem without a solution. What we are saying here now is that we have a permanent solution to environmental challenges as it relates to oil spills in the Niger Delta,” he said.

According to him, the innovation can outperform conventional remediation methods, which often take years and still fail to fully restore ecosystems.

“What conventional approaches will take years and yet will not be able to restore the environment, can be addressed within weeks and months,” he stated.

The scientist described the Niger Delta as a severely degraded and fragile ecosystem due to decades of oil exploration, noting widespread contamination of creeks, groundwater, and farmlands.

“The creeks, waterways, streams, and groundwater are heavily polluted, every aspect of the environment is affected,” he said.

Monta explained that the technology specifically targets persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which are commonly associated with oil and gas operations.

“In a matter of hours, this technology can dissolve and destroy PCB and PAH break them down and turn them into water,” he claimed.Bottled Water

He further disclosed that the solution has been tested in collaboration with an oil company in Nigeria, where hydrocarbon substances were reportedly transformed into water under controlled conditions.

“They saw the result within hours that thick hydrocarbon was turned to water it lost all its hydrocarbon properties,” he said.

Beyond oil spill remediation, Monta said the technology could also address the long-standing challenge of produced water in oil operations, which regulators such as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, restrict from being discharged due to contamination risks.

“With this technology, produced water can be treated and safely discharged or even used for irrigation,” he added.

He emphasised that the method does not require excavation or displacement of communities, unlike conventional clean-up techniques.

“It doesn’t matter the depth of contamination, we can treat it without removing buildings or destroying crops,” he said.

While acknowledging that the technology is more expensive than traditional methods, Monta argued that its environmental safety and effectiveness justify the cost.

“It has zero effect on humans, crops, or the ecosystem, and there will be no re-contamination,” he said.