A MACHINE for sucking up oil slicks from the ocean surface has been modified to work three times as efficiently, thanks to a groovy design change.
Most oil slicks can be removed using a drum skimmer, a plastic roller supported by floats. As the roller turns, oil sticks to its surface and is lifted off the water and scraped into a container behind.
Now engineer Arturo Keller at the University of California, Santa Barbara, has hit upon a simple improvement. By moulding deep grooves into the drum, he has increased its surface area, and therefore the amount of oil it…
