A disassembled white oyster-shaped oil spill cleanup robot on a blue background

Academic year

2024/2025

IED Alfaro Hofmann Collection Award 2025

'S.L.I.C.K.' (Scalable Liquid Integration Containment Kit) is a lightweight marine oil spill containment and cleanup system designed for recreational vessels.

As maritime traffic increases, so does the risk of small-scale unintentional spills. 'S.L.I.C.K.' offers a scalable, crew-friendly solution that protects marine environments without disrupting life onboard.

Based on a material developed by Argonne National Laboratory, the project aims to upgrade traditional SOPEP (Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan) kits, offering a safer, more effective, and easier-to-implement alternative for responding to spills of gasoline or other light fuels used by recreational vessels.

The kit includes OLIE, a floating robot that collects spilled oil from the surface using absorbent sponge spheres, and a compression unit that extracts and stores the recovered fuel. By adapting Argonne's Oleo Sponge technology for small-scale applications, "S.L.I.C.K." offers practical solutions for spill cleanup in marinas, harbors, and recreational vessels.