Oil Spills

Oil Spills are accidental byproducts of oil exploration and transportation. Most of the
worlds oil and gas spills are caused by accident, however, some are caused by sabotage. Many
of the world's oil spills were from the drilling of oil which include The Deepwater Horizon Oil
Spill and the Gulf War Oil Spill. There are also spillages in the transportation of oil such as the
Exxon Valdez and the Amoco Cadiz Oil Spill. The damage and impact of oil spills vary greatly
on the sensitivity of the region where the oil is spilled, the conditions such as wind and currents
at the time, the amount of oil that is leaked and how effective the nearby authorities are at the
time of the spill, as will be explained later.
Vocabulary:
Absorber- The materials that are used in booms to absorb oil that is being contained.
Boom- A containment device that is used as a barrier to stop oil from getting into areas such as
shorelines and marshlands. The same device can also be used to surround areas where oil is
leaking from such as ships and fuel tanks.
Dispersant- Chemicals that are sprayed into the oil to break down the oils compounds to get the
oil to sink.
Skimmer- A floating system that collects and moves oil on the surface of the water to be
collected after concentration.
Bio Dispersants- Bacteria that eats up the oil and breaks down the chemical compounds of the
oil.
Purpose of the ExperimentWe have conducted an experiment to analyse the spread and protection from oil slicks. We have
also devised methods of containing and removing the oil from the water that will be tested out
and rated in order to test the effectiveness of different methods of cleaning the spills. The lab will
be designed as much as possible to mimic a real life scenario.
Hypothesis-

This experiment will explore the removal of oil through mechanical means and dispersing
oil through chemical means. We will be taking advantage of oils immiscible and buoyant
properties by using mechanical devices to remove the oil from the surface of the water. Using the
booms and skimmers to contain and concentrate the oil and then using the absorbers to separate
the oil from the water for storage. Testing the efficiency of a variety of devices including suction,
skimmers, absorbents, booms and chemical methods in the form of dispersants. When we start to
use the dispersant, it will have an opposite effect, this will dilute the oil and break it down into
smaller parts that will no longer be of danger to the environment.

LabFor this simulation of an oil spill and methods of cleaning it up, this will be a qualitative
experiment. We will be using a large plastic container filled with water, the sides of the container
representing the shorelines and the water representing the sea. The materials that we are using
are representatives of real life methods of cleaning oil spills. The crude oil, in this experiment,
would be represented by vegetable oil with red food colouring as it contains the same buoyancy
and consistency as crude oil the red colouring would be used to represent the chemicals in the
oil. The team thinks that the food coloring in the oil will separate from the oil and go into the
water. The pipette represents pumps that are used in skimmers to remove the separated oil from
the water. The spoon represents the skimmers that are used in the cleaning of oil. Straws
represent booms that are used to separate and protect areas from oil. The sponge, paper napkin
and cotton balls represent the oil spill absorbers used on booms to absorb the oil that it comes in
contact with. The dispersant that we are using is dishwashing soap, this is a good representation
as soap is made to break down grease and oil. We will then pour 60 ml of vegetable oil with red
food coloring into the center of the container. We get to use different materials to try to stop the
oil from reaching the shoreline (edges of the container) whilst removing the oil. The oil would go
into a beaker for measurement and separation from the water. After 5 minutes, a dispersant is put
into the water, we used soap. Then we try the same thing that we did before, recording the
differences.
What happened-

The team found out that the oil spread much more rapidly than expected. It was
determined that most of the materials that we used were ineffective such as the sponge, cotton
balls and a paper napkin. This was because once they were used once, the oil could not be
removed from them, so when they were put back into the water, the oil just went back into the
water. The spoon was also not very effective because oil is lighter than water, therefore, when
trying to take the oil out of the water, the oil would just flow over the brim of the spoon, leaving
just water. We found that the most effective materials were the ones made of plastic, making it
easier to remove the oil out of it once used once. The pipette was not only good for removing the
oil from the surface of the water in the container, but also to put the water when separated from
the oil in the beaker back into the container.
Material Effectiveness:
Matereal

Material's
Role

Effectiveness
Rating 1-5

Observations

Pipette

Absorber

The pipette was effective at

sucking the oil from the surface
of the water when used
properly.
The pipette was also good at
putting the water that was taken
with the oil back into the water
when separated.

Spoon

Skimmer

The spoon was not very

effective because the oil just
floated over the brim and the
water remained, this method
took a large amount of water
out in comparison to the oil
taken out.

Sponge

Absorber

The sponge was good at first

when used to suck up the oil
from the water, however, it was
much less effective when it
contained oil because when it
was put into the water again, it
just released the oil it contained
back into the water.

Image of Material

Straw

Boom

The boom was extremely

effective at stopping the oil
from touching the sides of the
container, however, more
would be needed in order to
completely stop the oil from
reaching the sides.

Piece of
ice cream
stick

none

The small piece of wood was

there to represent the oil rig
that the oil was leaking from. It
served no purpose in the
cleaning or containment of the
oil.

Cotton
Balls

Absorber

The cotton was much like the

sponge, after one use, it would
just put oil back into the water.
It was worse than the sponge
because it did not absorb nearly
as much.

Small
Paper
Napkin

Absorber

The square inch of paper

napkin was terrible at
absorbing the oil, and once the
oil was on the napkin, it could
not be removed, making this a
single use item.

Dishwash Dispersant 4
ing Soap

The soap was good at breaking

down the components of the
oil, however, it was not good
enough to make the oil sink.

ReflectionThis lab provided us with qualitative results such as a general idea on what worked and what did
not work. As a revision, we should start quantitatively measuring results such as the amount of
oil that was removed in a specified time by different mechanisms. This would yield much more

accurate results now that the team knows what works and what certainly does not. There could
also be more forms of removing the oil like burning it. The team could narrow down the
mechanisms and add more quantity to them such as using 4 straws instead of 1 and using larger
paper napkins.
This lab could also reflect more on a real life scenario by making different areas such as
marsh lands and shorelines because the team has learned that there is much more affecting the
damage that an oil spill can have than just the amount of oil spilled.
The next step for this experiment would be to scale up the model and to use more forms
of cleaning up the spill including using bacterial dispersants to break down and decompose the
oil, using a larger quantity of some machines. Next, the experiment could involve different levels
of sensitivity in areas which would represent estuaries or shorelines.