Episode 17: A Superhydrophobic Solution

Technology Today

Southwest Research Institute

Technology

4.8 • 19 Ratings

🗓️ 16 March 2020

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The award-winning LotusFlo™ superhydrophobic coating is solving a major problem in offshore oil drilling. Substances often clog pipes, slowing or stopping the flow of oil. This innovative coating applied through a unique plasma process keeps substances from adhering to pipe surfaces. Better flow makes recovering petroleum for fuel and other products more cost-effective, which is a win for consumers too. But that’s not the only perk, LotusFlo is also better for the environment, cutting out the need for harsh chemicals that pollute the ocean. R&D Magazine recently recognized LotusFlo as one of the 100 most significant innovations of 2019. Find out why! Plus, an SwRI engineer shares his breakthrough moment bringing about cleaner engines and cleaner air. In Ask Us Anything, we’re tackling the popular tech topic, machine learning. Listen and learn from the people shaping our world through science, engineering, research and technology.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Coming up, the award-winning Lotus Flow coding process, why this pipe coating is making a big difference for the oil and gas industry, plus a breakthrough for better air quality.
0:12.8	And machine learning, it's a tech buzz phrase, but do you know what it means?
0:17.5	Our expert is in-house to explain.
0:19.9	That's next on this episode of Technology Today.
0:26.3	We live with technology, science, engineering, and the results of innovative research every day.
0:32.8	Now, let's understand it better. You're listening to the Technology Today podcast presented by Southwest Research Institute.
0:40.5	Hello and welcome to technology today. I'm Lisa Benia. Breakthroughs and ask us anything coming up.
0:46.3	But first, SWRI Institute scientist Michael Miller is here to discuss Lotus Flow superhydrophobic coating used in offshore pipes.
0:56.0	The technology is one of our two R&D 100 award winners for 2019.
1:01.0	Congratulations to your team and thanks for being here, Michael.
1:04.0	Well, thank you, Lisa.
1:05.0	So Michael, first question, what is Lotus Flow?
1:08.0	How do you describe it?
1:10.0	Well, Lotus Flow is both a coding technology as well as a process to apply the coding, which
1:19.6	deposits a coating on the internal surface of pipe structures, and the purpose of this coding
1:25.6	is to mitigate deposits from adhering to the internal surface
1:31.9	of that pipe. And the deposits that we've targeted are things like waxes or parapherns, as well as
1:41.5	as asphaltines, which are tar-like substances that are very tenacious on just about any kind of surface.
1:50.2	And these deposits present a big problem to the oil and gas industry when we're recovering oil from deep offshore wells,
2:01.7	in that they tend to plug the pipe in these wells.
2:07.2	So the coating prevents the adhesion of these deposits
2:11.5	and allows product to flow consistently and continuously.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Southwest Research Institute, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Southwest Research Institute and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.