Mexican scientists are turning to nanotechnology for an economical and effective solution for unblocking oil pipelines — a problem that otherwise costs companies great sums of money worldwide. After seven years of studying the molecules that have a role in the formation of the deposits, which the scientists have nicknamed “cholesterol”, experts at the Metropolitan Autonomous University (UAM) are on the verge of a definitive solution.

Thanks to the techniques that allow manipulation on the atomic and molecular scale, there is confidence of good news in the short term, Nikola Batina Skeledzija, coordinator of the UAM nanotechnology and molecular engineering lab, told Tierramérica.

Currently, to dilute the deposits in the oil pipelines, chemicals are used, which create electromagnetic fields and do not always clear the blockages.