Dr. Dr.-Ing. Leonie Beek, head of chemical technologies for textile & fiber innovations at ITA Institut für Textiltechnik der RWTH Aachen University, has been awarded the highly prestigious Paul Schlack Prize 2025 for her dissertation on the Bionic Oil Adsorber (BOA) – a floating textile system designed to remove oil from water in a sustainable, cost-effective way. 🌊 💯 Developed in collaboration with researchers from ITA, the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, and Heimbach Group, the BOA offers an innovative response to oil spills. “I am very honored to receive the 2025 Paul Schlack Prize,” says Beek. “It confirms that bionics can deliver creative solutions with real market potential – from everyday challenges to major problems. The award motivates me to keep pushing forward with the BOA and other bionic innovations.” Imagine a boat accident near the shore of a lake: several liters of diesel fuel spill into the water. Within an hour, the Bionic Oil Adsorber could remove up to four liters of oil – enough to clear a film covering roughly 100 square meters. 👍 The BOA consists of a floating container fitted with a textile element that extends into the water. The textile selectively absorbs the oil film and channels it to a collection container, where the oil separates naturally and can be recovered. The container is then emptied and reused. Unlike conventional oil-absorbent nonwoven fabrics, which are single-use and must be incinerated after deployment, the BOA is fully reusable, generates no waste, and avoids the need for environmentally harmful dispersants. It is also cost-effective: at an estimated ten cents per liter of oil removed, the process is five to thirteen times cheaper than conventional alternatives. The BOA’s design takes inspiration from the floating fern. The plant’s leaves rapidly absorb oil thanks to fine hairs that bind hydrocarbons, while their waxy surfaces repel water. Transferring this principle to a novel, superhydrophobic textile, the research team created a material that can be manufactured flexibly in different sizes and shapes depending on the site of use. “This year, I had the opportunity to supervise another thesis on the BOA, which resulted in a demonstrator at the next stage of scaling,” Beek reports. “Each step brings us closer to market launch.” 😀 📸: Andreas Schmitter
Bianca Kriel
1mo
Herzlichen Glückwunsch, Leonie! Ich freue mich, dass ich für Good Impact bereits über den tollen Bionic Oil Adsorber berichten konnte!
Congrats!!
Advancing Composite Manufacturing & Industry Collaboration | Head of Composites Production @ ITA
1moCongratulations 🥂