Students of Nazarbayev Intellectual School of Karaganda, Luka Dolidze and Andrey Lucher, have developed an environmental startup called OilX — an intelligent system designed to detect and locally clean up oil spills on the water's surface. The project primarily aims to address the problem of oil pollution in the Caspian Sea.

The system combines artificial intelligence, drone technology and EcoSorb, an absorbent material developed by the students to remove oil pollutants from water. Equipped with a camera and GPS module, a drone scans the water's surface, while a computer vision system detects oil slicks and determines their coordinates, area and level of contamination. Following the analysis, the drone delivers the absorbent material directly to the spill site and distributes it over the contaminated surface.

"To create EcoSorb, we used biochar made from tree branches and leaves. By adding cellulose, perlite and a water-repellent wax component, we developed a material that absorbs petroleum products while barely absorbing water," the project authors explain.

The students have also предусмотрели the recycling of used absorbent material through pyrolysis — a high-temperature treatment process carried out with limited oxygen. This approach will help reduce waste and make it possible to reuse the material.

The project also includes a web platform that enables users to monitor water quality based on several indicators, including acidity (pH), turbidity and dissolved substances. In addition, the platform provides drone control capabilities and report generation.

It is worth noting that the students' project received high recognition at the regional Business Ideas Competition. Luka and Andrey won first place in the environmental category and received a 1 million tenge grant certificate to further develop their startup.