Oil spill is a worldwide problem that cause great damage to the environment, especially marine life. The oil removal is an expensive and complicated process. Currently, there are three main approaches used to clean an oil spill: dispersants, skimmers, and in situ burning. All these approaches either harm marine life (dispersants), increase carbon emission (in situ burning), and/or are not efficient i.e.; they also absorb water along oil (skimmers). In some cases, oil can’t be recovered or recycled. All of them are expensive and none of them can be reused. We report a revolutionary oil spill removal solution that is efficient, economic, ecofriendly, and reusable than the current available oil spill recovery solutions. By coating commercially available sponges (such as polyurethane, melamine) with a specially designed nanocomposite material, we have developed a sponge that shows oleophilic, hydrophobic, and magnetic (OHM) properties. Due to its unique coating material, the OHM sponge attracts oil but repel water and responds to external magnetic field. Using a variety of characterization, we have shown that the OHM sponge is oleophilic and hydrophobic which present their potential in oil spill removal applications. The oil absorbed can be recovered by squeezing the sponge and recycled and the OHM sponge can be reused. In addition, due to its magnetic properties, it can be controlled using an external magnetic field that provides additional dimension of its use in oil removal applications.

1. We propose an oil remediation solution that is
Economic
Efficient
Ecofriendly
Vikas Nandwana
CTO & Co-Founder
MFNS Tech, Inc.
OHM SPONGE

2. Problem - Oil Spills
Sources: ITOPF, USCG, NOAA, CNN, National Geographic, Elpais, Microbewiki, Greenliving

3. Market Size and Opportunity
120
90
60
30
150
180
MarketSize($inBillions)
The global oil spill management market is expected to reach $180 Billion by 2025.
Source: Grand View Research

4. Current Methods
Sources: CNN, MSAR, ITOPF
Dispersants
In-situ Burning
Skimmers
Sorbents
Fast
Toxic for Marine Life
Partial Oil Recovery
Slow, Inefficient
Efficient, Selective
Expensive, Physical Waste
Fast
Carbon Emission
Needs for an
Ideal Solution
 Cost-effective
 Fast
 Selective
 Oil Recovery
 Eco-friendly
?

5. Solution : Oleophilic, Hydrophobic and Magnetic (OHM) sponge
* US Patent 62/788,347
Demo - https://youtu.be/sE-1CNsBEOM
Water Oil
OHM
Sponge
Commercially
Available Sponge
Cost-effective
Coating*
A smart sponge that selectively removes/recovers oil from oil/water mixture

6. Oil Absorption – Selectivity and Reusability
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0 0.125 0.25 0.5 1
MassAbs.Capacity(g/g)
Salt Concentration (M)
Oil absorption capacity of OHM Sponge is not affected due to pH, salinity, or various oil types.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
MassAbs.Capacity(g/g)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
MassAbs.Capacity(g/g)
Cycles
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
1 3 5 7 9 11 13
MassAbs.Capacity(g/g)
pH
Removes all types of oils At any pH (acidic or basic)
Squeeze & re-use; many times! In salty or fresh waters
Mass absorption capacity is based on American Standard Test Method (ASTM) 726-06 using Fisherbrand™ 19 Mechanical Pump Oil (unless otherwise specified).
Oil Absorption – Selectivity and Reusability

7. Commercial Crude Oil Removal with OHM Sponge
Middle Eastern and South American Crude Oil Samples were kindly provided by Chevron (Courtesy – Dr Ajit Pradhan).
West Texas and Azerbaijan samples were bought from onta.com.
Mass absorption capacity is based on American Standard Test Method (ASTM) 726-06.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
West Texas
Blend
Middle Eastern
Extra Light
Middle Eastern
Light
South American
Heavy
Azerbaijan
Heavy
MassAbsorptionCapacity(g/g)
Cycle 1 Cycle 2 Cycle 3
Commercial Crude Oil Removal with OHM Sponge

8. Competition and Competitive Advantages
Hydrophobic Oleophilic
Solution Skimmer Dispersant
(Corexit)
In situ
Burning
Sorbent OHM
Sponge
Cost No Yes Yes No Yes
Speed No Yes Yes No Yes
Reusable No No No No Yes
Recovery Yes No No No Yes
Selective No No Yes Yes Yes
C Emission Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Marine Life Yes No No Yes Yes
OHM Sponge is more Economic, Efficient, and Eco-friendly than currently deployed oil spill removal solutions.
Economic
Efficient
Eco-friendly

9. Category Product
Physical
Waste
Generated
Type of
oils
Breadth of
Use Cases
Cost
Recovery of
Sorbent
Scalable
Recovery
of Oil
OHM Sponge
Direct
Competitor
Organic Sorbents
Inorganic Sorbents
Synthetic Sorbents
Continuous
Boom Sorbents
Loose Fiber
Synthetic Sorbents
Emerging
Competitor
Argonne Labs
OLEO Sponge
Carbon Nanotubes
Comparison with Other Sorbents
Best in category Middle in category Worst in category
Comparison with Other Sorbents

10. $0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6
PIG® Original Absorbent Sock
ULINE Sorbent Socks
PIG® Oil-Only Absorbent Mat Pad
Spilltration® SpillBoa® Bales (5''X25')
ULINE Sorbent Booms (5''x10')
AbsorbentsOnline Oil Absorbant Boom (10')
AbsorbentsOnline Oil Absorbant Boom (40')
Grainger Absorbent Boom (20')
ULINE Sorbent Booms (8''x10')
ULINE Heavy Roll Sorbents
Spilltration® SpillBoa® Bales (5''X10')
ULINE Heavy Pad Sorbents
ULINE Medium Roll Sorbents
ULINE Medium Pad Sorbents
Spill911 Sorbent Boom (10')
Spill911 Sorbent Boom (20')
ULINE light sorbent pads
Grainger Absorbent Boom (10')
Cost per Gallon of Oil Absorbed
CompetitorSet
OHM Sponge
Actual Cost per gallon absorbed: −$𝟎𝟎.74*Cost per gallon absorbed: $𝟎𝟎. 𝟐𝟐6
Breakdown of Costs per Sorbent to Cost per Gallon of Oil
Clean-up cost using OHM sponge is negative if the recovered oil price is considered.
* If the recovered oil price ($1/gallon) is considered
Comparison with Direct Competitors

11. Business Model
Value Chain
We will manufacture
OHM sponges from
raw materials and sell
them to end users for
marginal profit
Sponge provides
competitive cost per
gallon absorbed* to
customers at 87.5 %
margin at scale
Sponge
supplier
Input material
supplier
Manufacture
sponges
Sell sponges to
end users
Environment
Remediation
Companies
* Cost per gallon based on sponge reuse
of ten times
# If the recovered oil price ($1/gallon) is
considered-$1
$0
$1
$2
$3
$4
CostpergallonofOilRemoved
Average Market Price: $2
87%
Margin
$3.82
-$0.75*#
$0.25*
Clean-up Cost per Gallon of Oil

12. OHM SPONGE
An Environmental
Remediation Solution
Vikas Nandwana
CTO & Co-Founder
MFNS Tech, Inc.