Forums → WEPR → Oil Spill Clean - Up

The oil spill is becoming a huge problem, so I decided to do a science fair related project on it. I did write all this, and I have already contacted authorities about my idea, so there's no use in copying it. I would just like to know what some people think about it. And unless you have hours of spare time, I wouldn't advise reading the whole thing, and sort of skimming through it instead.



Objective: To compare twelve materials, and try to find one that will absorb oil, float, and can be contained.

Observation:
Oil spills are very destructive to birds and marine life.

Question/Problem:
What product or material absorbs oil, and floats on water?

Hypothesis/prediction:
I think that sphagnum peat moss will work the best, because it is already used for cleaning up oil spills.


Materials:
Marvel mystery oil (red)
Water (no chlorine or other chemicals added)
Sorbets: sphagnum peat moss, bio-safe powder, a seas sponge, saw dust, marshmallows, perlite, sweeping compound, plastic sponge, nerf dart foam, fiberglass, Styrofoam (polystyrene) and poly urethane foam.

Procedure/experiment:
We put sixteen ounces of water in each jar, and 2 1/2 ounces of marvel mystery oil in each one. Then, we add the sorbents to each jar. Next, we observed and documented each product for two days. We put lids on each jar to make sure that the water would not evaporate. One jar had a material called bio-safe, to experiment using bio-remediation. Bio-remediation means to break down the material using bacteria.
We ground up Styrofoam and polyurethane in a food processor and thoroughly cleaned between loads to avoid cross-contamination. We put one cup of each sorbent in each jar, except for the sea sponge and plastic sponge, which were just pieces. The bio-remediation consisted of two teaspoons of bio-safe.

Initial observation: First hour

1. Nerf foam: seems to pick up the oil very slowly.
2. Marshmallows: not absorbing oil, they are just absorbing in the oil.
3. Fiber glass: immediately soaked up oil, but is absorbing water and sinking.
4. Polyurethane foam: slowly absorbing oil, and floats.
5. Styrofoam: acts almost like a sponge, pulling the oil up through it, and floats
6. Sawdust: absorbed about half of the oil, and sank.
7. Sphagnum peat moss: picked up all of the oil, but is very slowly sinking.
8. Sea sponge: immediately picked up the oil, but is sinking slowly.
9. Plastic sponge:absorbed all the oil immediately, and is still floating.
10. Perlite: floating, but not really absorbing the oil.
11. Bio-safe: It sank, but is coming back up one piece at a time.
12. Clean sweep: most of it sunk, but some of it is still absorbing oil.

Observation after 24 hours:

1. Nerf Foam: Absorbed pretty much all of the oil, and is still floating.
2. Marshmallows: Nothing has happened yet.
3. Fiber Glass: Absorbed the oil, but sank.
4. Polyurethane foam: Still floating, and absorbed all of the oil.
5. Styrofoam: Sucked the oil to the top of the jar. Still floating. Working great.
6. Sawdust: All of the sawdust sank.
7. Sphagnum Peat moss: Absorbed all the oil, and most of it is still floating.
8. Sea Sponge: Absorbed all the oil, but slowly sank.
9. Plastic Sponge: Still floating, and absorbed all of the oil.
10. Perlite: Floating, but not absorbing oil.
11. Bio-safe: Floating, and it looks like itâs dissolving the oil.
12. Clean Sweep: Hasnât done anything, and it sank.

Final Observation (after 48 hours)

1. Nerf Foam: Absorbed almost all of the oil. Still floating.
2. Marshmallows: Hasnât made any progress; still floating.
3. Fiberglass: Absorbed all of the oil, and sank.
4. Polyurethane Foam: Has made what looks like a separate layer; because there is water between the part that has socked up the oil, and the part that hasnât.
5. Styrofoam: The oil has soaked through the Styrofoam.
6. Sawdust: No progress has been made.
7. Sphagnum Peat Moss: Still floating, and absorbed all of the oil.
8. Sea Sponge: Absorbed all the oil, but sank.
9. Plastic Sponge: Absorbed all of the oil, and still floating.
10. Perlite: Absorbed only a little bit of the oil, but still floating.
11. Bio-safe: Sank completely.
12. Clean sweep: Absorbed only a little bit of oil, and sunk.

Variables:

Controlled Variables:
The controlled sample has sixteen ounces of water, and two and a half ounces of red oil, which remained unchanged. This provided a sample to control all of my experiments with.

Manipulated Variables:
I added twelve different products to my jars, containing the exact amount of water and oil as the controlled sample. This way, I could observe the results.
Responding Variables:
Observing which products absorbed the oil the fastest, without sinking.

Conclusion:
Only four of the twelve products absorbed all of the oil without sinking. The best products numbered in order, one being the best.

1. Ground up polyurethane foam.
2. Ground up polystyrene. (Styrofoam)
3. Plastic sponge.
4. Peat Moss.

Polyurethane foam soaked up all of the oil completely, and used a small amount of the foam that I put in the jar. It seemed to clump up on the water, which would make it easier to scoop up, and to remove.

Styrofoam absorbed all of the oil without sinking, but it is so light, I think that the wind would blow it around.

The Plastic Sponge worked well, but left a little bit of on the top of the water. It would work well mixed with other products.

Peat Moss also would work better mixed with other products, because it would help hold the mix together, since it is so heavy. It tended to sink somewhat.