Oil

​Sometimes, people want to clean up polluted water, by removing spilled oil from its surface. Other times, they want to purify oil-based fuel, by removing water from it. An inexpensive new "smart" membrane created at Canada's University of British Columbia can switch between doing both.

Our phones follow us everywhere – which often puts them in the line of fire for spilt drinks or rain. But now a team at the University of Michigan has developed a durable, clear coating that could help phones – or any surface, for that matter – repel almost any liquid.

In a real case of strange bedfellows, one of the largest solar plants in the world is being built in Oman to boil water to use in oil production rather than to generate electricity.

Researchers at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in South Africa have developed a new fuel, known as Coalgae. Made from a combination of algae and coal dust, the latter of which is a waste product, the fuel could have a significant positive impact on the environment.

In the 21st century, undersea factories are becoming a reality, but only as unmanned robotic platforms that are rarely visited. To show how these will be built and operated, GE has created a 3D virtual exhibit for its new research center in Rio de Janeiro.

The Lubricheck analyzes the capacitive and resistive properties of engine oil samples, to determine if an oil change is needed.

At a time when the incandescent bulb is itself being replaced by newer lighting technology, Industrial designer Sergio Silva has sent the bulbs back in time by turning reclaimed light bulbs into an oil lamp dubbed the Oyule.