Oil-Water Separation via 3D Printed, CNT-Infused Polymer Matrices

This project sought to clean oil spills with hydrophobic carbon-nanotube-infused PDMS meshes. Hiro was responsible for expanding the concept into a 3D-printable product.

The setup was integrated with an existing 3D printer via custom hardware and firmware modifications. Standard 3D printer thermal fail-safes were electrically bypassed, and the custom extruder’s syringe needle was wired as a conductive lead with which to run an automated calibration sequence. The resulting machine successfully printed the PDMS mesh, demonstrating effective oil-water separation in a highly-adaptable, manufacturable product.