World's first magnetic soap could revolutionise pollution clean-up operations



The world’s first magnetic soap has been produced and it could dramatically improve pollution clean-ups.

Scientists from the University of Bristol made the soap by dissolving iron in chloride and bromide ions, very similar to those found in everyday mouthwash or fabric conditioner.

Amazingly, the soap responded to a magnetic field, which raises the possibility of producing pollution-fighting detergents that can be lifted back out of sensitive environments.

Up, up and away: This photo shows the magnetic soap rising up through the test tube

Scientists have long been searching for a way to control soaps - or surfactants as they are known in industry - once they are in solution to increase their ability to dissolve oils in water and then remove them from a system.

The team at the University of Bristol have previously worked on soaps sensitive to light, carbon dioxide or changes in pH, temperature or pressure.



Their latest breakthrough, reported in Angewandte Chemie, is the world's first soap sensitive to a magnetic field.

Environmental use: The magnetic soap could dramatically improve pollution clean-up operations, because it could be removed from the scene with ease

The team at Bristol, led by Professor Julian Eastoe, found that the addition of iron creates metallic centres within the soap particles.

To test its properties, the team introduced a magnet to a test tube containing their new soap lying beneath a less dense organic solution.

When the magnet was introduced the iron-rich soap overcame both gravity and surface tension between the water and oil, to levitate through the organic solvent and reach the source of the magnetic energy, proving its magnetic properties.

The potential applications of magnetic surfactants are huge.



With cleaning agents often causing significant environmental damage, the breakthrough by the Bristol team was welcomed by campaigners.



Euan Dunn, the RSPB’s head of marine policy, however, stressed that prevention is always better than the cure.

He told MailOnline: 'Though this sounds very interesting - and it would certainly be very useful to have any advances in technology that would allow us to clear up oil spills more effectively – prevention is still better than cure.



'Oil spills have many different, negative impacts on the marine environment and its wildlife, particularly seabirds, some of which cannot be mitigated.



'The effects of an oil spill can and do persist in the marine environment for many decades, even after a thorough clean-up operation.



'Survival rates for birds that are oiled are low, even for those that are captured and cleaned, and so there must always be a clear focus on preventing these incidents from occurring in the first place, alongside any innovations in potential ways to deal with them if they do occur.'

Meanwhile, Peter Dowding, an industrial chemist not involved in the research, said: ‘The ability to remove the surfactant after it has been added widens the potential applications to environmentally sensitive areas like oil spill clean ups where in the past concerns have been raised.’

As well as having properties that makes it easier to round up and remove from an environmental clean-up, the soap's electrical conductivity, melting point and how readily its dissolves in water could be altered by a simple magnetic on and off switch.

Traditionally these factors, which are key to the effective application of soaps in a variety of industrial settings, could only be controlled by adding an electric charge or changing the pH, temperature or pressure of the system, all changes that irreversibly alter the system composition and cost money to put right.