Brainstorming

Possible Tests:

● Oil sorbents
○ polyurethane foam [coated in silane (silane is a poisonous gas so maybe not)]
■ https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a25553/sponge-material-abs
orb-90-times-weight-in-oil/
■ Decided not to use
○ Polypropylene
■ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28818816
○ Cotton fiber
○ Peat moss
■ https://www.homedepot.com/p/3-cu-ft-Peat-Moss-3001-CFC003P/205883
917
● Method of bacteria
○ Inject
○ Infuse
○ Soak
○ Only use for disposal of oil
● Skimming or soaking the sponge

Materials Needed:
● Vegetable oil or natural motor oil (suggested by our mentor to simulate crude oil better)
https://www.target.com/p/mobil-super-motor-oil-10w-30-1-quart/-/A-13773484
● Sorbents
● Plastic tub
● Salt water
file:///C:/Users/mahunt/Downloads/activity_Oil%20Spill%20Cleanup.pdf

Description of Variables to Test:

1) What kind of material should we use for our sponge?

a)​ Controls​: amount of water, amount of oil in water, size of sponge material, time
sponge is in the water, temperature of water
b) We chose this variable to test because we do not know which material will be the
most absorbent, and this testing will help us determine that
c) We will take the environmental impacts of materials into account as we select which
ones to use for this experiment
 d) Materials
-6 cup of water
-2 cups of motor oil
-tub
-polypropylene
-cotton fiber
-peat moss
e) Success would be if the substance absorbs 5 times its mass and does not break apart
in the water, the winner would be which substance absorbs a lot of oil, but doesn’t break
apart.
f) Failure would be if the substance absorbs more water than oil
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MedVOXHIqf6eidwPWNmUsjk1FEu4yh1Uakx8nQSPAqY
/edit?usp=sharing

2) How should we use the sponge to soak up the oil? (skimming or soaking)
a) ​Controls​: amount of water, amount of oil, size of sponge, temperature, time sponge is
in water, temperature, material of sponge (this experiment will be done after we decide
on our material)
b) We chose this variable to test because we are curious to see whether or not a
combination of two spill cleanup methods (skimming and sponges) will produce better or
worse results.
c) Materials
-6 cup of water
-2 cups of motor oil
-tub
-whichever sorbent worked the best in the test above
d) Success - the method that soaks up 1/2 the oil, winner soaks up the most oil
e) Failure - method soaks up less than 1/4 of the oil

3) How should we insert the bacteria into the sponge? (only if we can get bacteria)
a) ​Controls​: Material of sponge, amount of sponge, amount of water, amount of oil,
temperature, size of sponge
b) We chose this variable to test because we want to know which method will increase
the bacteria’s productivity the most.
c) Materials
-6 cup of water
-2 cups of motor oil
-tub
-alcanivorax borkumensis
-syringe
d) Success is if the bacteria eats over half the oil, also the easiest method to replicate
e) Failure would be if the bacteria eats less than a quarter of the oil
We chose to do experiment one and two because we do not have the bacteria yet.

Experimental Setup

Sponge Material Experiment

Procedure:
1. Fill a tub with 6 cups of water, and wait until it is at room temperature
2. Add 2 cups of oil and let it sit for 1 minute
3. Place the peat moss in the center of the oil and leave it there for 2 minutes
4. Remove the moss and measure how much liquid it has absorbed, and how much of the
liquid was oil and how much was water (do this in a beaker so that they separate)
5. Measure how much water and oil is left in the tub
6. Repeat step 1-5 with polypropylene and cotton fiber instead of peat moss
7. Repeat experiment 3 times

Method of Using the Sponge

Procedure:
1. Fill a tub with 6 cups of water, and wait until it is at room temperature
2. Add 2 cups of oil and let it sit for 1 minute
3. Hold the sponge with tweezers and glide it across the top of the water from one end of
the tub to the other 5 times so that it is half submerged
4. Measure how much liquid it has absorbed, and how much of the liquid was oil and how
much was water (do this in a beaker so that they separate)
5. Measure how much water and oil is left in the tub
6. Repeat step 1-2 but then drop the sponge into the tub and leave it there for 2 minutes
7. Measure how much liquid it has absorbed, and how much of the liquid was oil and how
much was water (do this in a beaker so that they separate)
8. Measure how much water and oil is left in the tub
9. Repeat 3 times

How to measure oil vs water in the experiments:

1. Pour leftover water into a beaker.
2. The water and oil will naturally separate so that we can measure the volume of water
and oil
3. Then we can subtract the original volume of the tub with what was left and determine
how much the sponge absorbed
4. Cylinder: V = ​π​r2​​ h
5. Rectangular Prism: V = l x w x h