Experiment

Experiment Materials:

5W30 automotive motor oil (4 tablespoons)
note: using crude oil present in historic oil spills would be too environmentally unstable and less secure to clean up.
Glass containers (4)
Laytex gloves
Natural absorbers:
Cedar Sawdust
Cotton
Hay
Untreated hair
Oil-absorbent sheet
Resealable bag for waste
Scissors
Tablespoon
Tripod
Video-camera


Observations During Experimentation:

Cedar Sawdust:
• The sawdust attached itself to the perimeter of the oil.
• The oil did not become lighter in colour.
• When extracted, the sawdust clumped together, which made cleanup more difficult.
• The remaining sawdust dispersed in small portions.
• At the end of the observation, there were no bubbles in the water.

Hay:
• The oil became thick and clung to the hay as it made contact.
• The oil became lighter in colour.
• When the hay was removed, the oil dispersed into streams.
• At the end of the observation, there were bubbles in the water.

Cotton:
• Upon making contact with the oil, the cotton melted.
• The cotton changed colour and became a bluish tint.
• The oil attached itself somewhat to the oil.
• The cotton sank as it became absorbed by the oil.
• The oil did not become lighter in colour.
• At the end of the observation, there were bubbles in the water.

Untreated Hair:
• The oil bubbles were attached together and also spread out.
• The bubbles divided and formed additional bubbles.
• The oil changed colour, becoming significantly lighter.
• The hair clumped together.
• The oil stuck to the hair.
• The oil significantly disappeared as the hair was extracted, which made the oil significantly absorbed.
• At the end of the observation, there were bubbles in the water.

Oil Absorbency of Materials

Hair:
• http://factoidz.com/human-hair-a-highly-absorbent-material-to-clean-off-oil/
• Hair is designed to absorb oil from the scalp and the head.
• Oil attaches to the numerous small scales of follicles.

Cotton:
• http://www.asabe.org/PA/ASABE_ps_OilRemediation.pdf
• Cotton can absorb approximately 40 times its weight in oil.
• Cotton with oil will degrade naturally in the environment.
• Cotton fiber can be reused to absorb more oil.
• Drawback: needing a significant amount of cotton.

Sawdust:
• http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V74-4JHMRR9-1&_user=10&_coverDate=08%2F31%2F2006&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1703140666&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=d7cc85277f197a952b250c8ad3215d79&searchtype=a
• Sawdust is attractive in cost, most versatile and abundant source.

Hay:
• http://www.wcso.org/wcso-news/emergency-updates/haystraw-and-peat-moss-will-absorb-oil.html
• Hay is more expensive to collect and dispose of.
• Hay must be collected immediately, or else it might sink.
• Since hay must be collected frequently, the amount of new hay to be placed in the water is significant.
• Hay would need to be contained to prevent it from drifting everywhere.
• Hydrophobic (water repelling) and oilphilic (oil attracting) materials would be needed to contain the spread of hay.