We thought the cotton balls would absorb too much water, because they are designed to be absorbent. However, we thought the woodchips would be less effective, because it is a less absorbent material.

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RESEARCH:

• Oil is a liquid fossil fuel. Properties include:
  • It’s flammable.
  • Made of hydrocarbons (which are just hydrogen and carbon).

• Different kinds of oil include:

  • Industrial Types
    • Crude oil.
    • Petroleum/Gasoline - used in cars and light trucks; refineries turn them into functional resources for us.
      • Surface tension of oil - for oil spills - if the surface tension is low, the oil spill will spread easily. The higher the surface tension, the higher the chance the oil will stay in place (i.e., Petroleum Oils | US EPA).
      • The density of an oil spill can increase if lighter substances in it evaporate.
    • Diesel
    • Natural gas (e.g., methane - this is a fossil fuel)
  • Cooking Types. 
    • Canola oil
    • Olive oil
    • Avocado oil
    • Vegetable oil
    • Animal Types:
      • Butter / Ghee
      • Nut oils: Include walnut, pumpkin, hazelnut seed 

• The properties of industrial types differ from cooking types in these ways:

  • Industrial is taken straight from the earth, while cooking oils are extracted from plants like olive and avocado
  • Industrial oils use hydrocarbons to power vehicles, and cooking oils have natural, edible ingredients.
  • Has high viscosity (compared to cooking oil).
  • Some industrial oils do not freeze at a normal cooking oil’s freezing point (pour point) (i.e., Oil Classification: Complete List of Industrial Oils and Applications - Valvoline™ Global KSA - EN).
• Crude oil is primarily composed of easily evaporating hydrocarbons, along with smaller amounts of nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. (Crude oil | Definition, Characteristics, & Facts | Britannica).
  • Liquid paraffin, specifically an alkane, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid that is burned as fuel. 
  • Paraffins with fewer than 5 carbon atoms are usually gases, while those with between 5 and 15 carbon atoms are in liquid form, and those with 15 or more carbon atoms are solid.
  • Water has 2 hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. 
• Oxidizers are used to break down hydrocarbons. Some oxidizers include Hydrogen Peroxide.

• To stop oil spills from spreading easily, here are the things you need to do:

  • Decrease the temperature so molecules move slowly. 
  • -Adding salt increases the density of the water layer, increasing the density difference between the 2 liquids. 
  • Water molecules are more polar and tightly packed, while oil is significantly less so.

• There are two different ways oils can react to seawater

  • Persistent oils are oils that slowly go into the water and can have long-term impacts on the environment and wildlife.
    • Waxes
    • Bitumen

• Non-persistent oils have less of an impact on the environment, but are still dangerous for wildlife.

  • Gasoline
  • Jet fuels
  • Benzene
  • Diesel

• The difference between the two is the weight (persistent being heavier)

• The oil creates a thin layer/barrier called a slick, which can harm wildlife if handled wimproperly and this slick can be worn down and be turned into droplets  overtime depending on the waves and weather conditions

• The slick can also become denser if it’s left for a long time, because the lighter substances in it evaporate.
• Also, the oil can spread through the water if the natural processes help break down oils.
• Over time, it can oxidize and turn into tars or stick to rocks and sands to create tarballs, which can affect the environment severely, but bacteria/microbes can eat the oil for energy over time.
• Slick is the main thing that is harming animals

Fixed Variable: how much water and oil we tested with Manipulative Variable: the absorbent that we used (woodchips, cotton balls, and paper towels.).

PROCEDURE: What do we need our observations to be?

• Weight of oil and water (we know that oil is lighter than water, but we should get more accurate findings).
• See if the amount of time oil is in water impacts the effectiveness of separation methods.
• Use chemical solutions to separate oil from water.
• Ways we can contain slick and ways we can keep life from being harmed by slick.

What are we going to do?

• Separate oil from water using a paper towel BY scooping it up
• Separate oil from water using a filter - Rock filter

PROCEDURE:

1. Set up.
2. Pour water.
3. Pour salt into water.
4. Pour oil.
5. Try the paper towel method.
6. Use a cotton pad to separate.
7. Use woodchips to seperate

OBSERVATIONS:

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Oil collected from wood chips. Oil collected from cotton balls. Oil collected from paper towels.

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ANALYSIS:

• Woodchips were most effective in capturing ONLY oil rather than some water along with it, unlike Cotton Balls and Paper towels. 
• However, the cotton balls got 20 more ml of oil compared to woodchip, even though it got some water along with it (45 ml). Cotton balls were most absorbent, but they were less sustainable than the wood chips.
• The paper towel was the least effective in filtering, it left behind significant amounts of oils, because of how thin the sheets were. It was slipping from the paper towel and falling back into the bowl of water (we used the bowl of water to stimulate ocean oil spills.)
• Slick was a major part in this experiment, because it causes the paper towel to slip, since it wasn’t as absorbent than the other filters, that is also why cotton balls picked up the most and the slick made it stick onto everything, giving it a glossy/shiny look.

In summary, wood chips were the most effective in getting only oil, without water. But, the cotton balls were most effective in getting most oil overall, even though it got some water along with it as well.

These findings can help us in the real world, because people can use these methods (using wood chips, cotton balls, and paper towels) on a much larger scale to remove oil spills from the ocean efficiently and quickly - wood chips are the most effective for this! The cotton balls and paper towels can be used on lakes and ponds. Lake Tahoe in California, for example, is the cleanest lake in the world.

Google search powered by Gemini could be a source of error because it uses a lot of sites that are not completely trustworthy and certified. This is why we looked for information in direct, reliable links!

Petroleum and Real Life | CAPP How does Oil Behave in Water? – Clear Seas https://nautilusshipping.com/news-and-insights/oil-spill-clean-up-methods

Thank you to Bharath and Aiden's parents for helping them throughout this journey and helping us pick all of the materials, steps, and trifold required for this experiment.

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