Self-Cleaning Plastics: Tough on Grease, Light on the Environment?

American scientists have engineered a plastic coating which repels oil so well that it could turn water into the only detergent we need. This could save a lot of scrubbing and cursing over everything from dishes to garage floors, but more importantly it could reduce the need for detergents which currently turn our waste water into a toxic cocktail for marine ecosystems.

The house of the future should be like one giant non-stick frying pan, according to head researcher Dr. Jeffrey Youngblood, with everything from wall-paint to floors, mirrors, counters, and everything in your cabinets sealed in a layer of this stuff. Aside from reducing the soap and detergent content of waste water, it could also prolong the life of items that would normally be discarded when soiled. The key to this technology is the clever placement of a layer of water-attracting polyethylene glycol under a layer of a Teflon-like material which repels oil.

Yet, with projections that this coating will be commercially available in just a few years, the promise of a grease-free future must be balanced with the knowledge that this plastic will also end up in the waste stream. Given recent studies on both the biological threats of plastic degrading in our ocean, as well as the startling discovery that most of us have Teflon-related chemicals in our bloodstreams, this should give you pause.

Image: gromgull - flickr