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Sunflower Oil Could Make Potholes Obsolete — Is This The Solution For India's Broken Roads?
Scientists in the UK are using Sunflower oil to prevent potholes by filling cracks in the road.
Potholes are the bane of every traveller on the road today in India. Come the rain and potholes become a deadly menace claiming the lives of numerous innocent travellers in cities across the country.
However, researchers at Nottingham University in England could have the solution to ensure that potholes become a thing of the past - Sunflower Oil. The researchers developed Sunflower oil microcapsules (called CapHeal) that can be mixed with asphalt, which is used for surfacing roads.
The story behind the process of the creation of the microcapsules is a quirky one as well. The process used to produce the capsules is called spherification - which is a culinary process that involves shaping liquid into spheres. The lead researcher of the group, Dr. Alvaro Garcia stumbled onto the technique when watching the Spanish version of the popular culinary show - MasterChef.
The research team from the University of Nottingham found that Sunflower Oil can reverse the effects of ageing in bitumen, the binding agent for asphalt, by reducing its viscosity.
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The capsules break open when the load over a section of the road causes a crack to form, and with the reduced viscosity, the asphalt flows faster into the cracks, plugging them before they expand out and become potholes. The oil could also increase a road's lifespan by at least a third.
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The ingenious solution to plugging potholes is something any Indian would appreciate, thanks to the relatively low cost and the ingenuousness of the solution. Highways England, the government body that funded the project is set to test the new sunflower aided pothole prevention system over the next 12 to 24 months.
Hopefully, Indian authorities can pick up the solution and put it to use on our roads, which look more like a cratered pathway from a warzone after the rains come and wreck havoc.
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