Title: Cleaning Up an Oil Spill
Purpose: Finding effective, environmentally safe methods for cleaning up an oil spill.
Materials and Apparatus: chemical splash goggles; string (25 –cm piece); laboratory apron; 2
beakers (150-mL); newspapers; graduated cylinder (10-mL); masking tape; 2 wooden splints;
aluminum pie pan; matches; tap water; sand; motor oil; natural straw; container; liquid detergent;
2 droppers; paper towels
Drawings:
Procedures and Observations:
Procedures: First, put on the safety goggles and lab apron. Then cover the area with newspapers
secured by masking tape. Fill the pie pan with approximately 2 cm of water. Add two drops of
motor oil into the center of the pie pan. After that, tie the two ends of the string together creating
a circle. This should then be places around the oil on top of the water. Then add another 2 mL of
oil inside the circle of string. Try to use the string to pull the oil to one side of the pan and record
the observations in the Data Table. Using a dropper, try to suction out the oil. Then place the oil
acquired from the dropper in a beaker and dispose of it as instructed by the teacher. Record the
observations. Remove the string and dispose of it properly. Measure 5 mL of oil using the
graduated cylinder and place this into the oil. Then fill a clean 150 mL beaker with tap water.
Light a wooden splint with a match and using the burning splint, ignite the oil on the water in the
pan. Record the observations. If the oil was removed then proceed using that oil but if it wasn’t
removed then add another 5 mL of oil into the pan. Then spread a handful of sand lightly over
the surface of the oil. After that, wait one to two minutes and record the observations. If all of the
oil from the above step is below water level 5 mL of oil should be added to the pan but if not
then safely dispose of the contents of the pan and add 2 cm of water and 5 mL of oil into the pan.
Next, sprinkle a handful of straw on the surface of the oil and record the observations until
nothing else occurs. Dispose of the contents of the pan and once again add 2 cm of water to the
pan and add one drop of oil. After that, add one drop of liquid detergent to the oil and stir the two
together using a clean wooden splint. Record the observations and dispose of the contents of the
pan. Clean up the work area and wash hands before leaving the laboratory.
Observations: Many different observations were recorded and th y all varied except for that none
of them worked very well to clean up the oil.
Data:
Cleanup Procedure
Observations
The oil moved along with the circle of string.
Containment with string
The oil moved wherever the string was pulled.
It only sucks up a little bit at a time, but the
Suction with dropper
majority of the oil is still left in the water
Burning the oil
The fire crackled and went out.
The oil covered in sand sank to the bottom, in
Sand
areas of just water the sand would float.
The straw sticks to the concentration of oil and
Straw
they move with each other.
When added to the oil, it dispersed the oil out
Detergent
into many miniature droplets of oil.
Calculations: There were no calculations.
Conclusions: Many different methods were attempted to clean up the oil. However, none were
very effective in actually cleaning up the oil spill. This makes it very difficult to clean up oil
spills because not many methods are very effective.
Error Sources: There were no error sources.
Questions:
1. The string used in Steps 1-3 of the procedure shows how a boom works to contain oil
spills. Were you able to contain your oil with the string provided? Why or why not?
Yes, the oil was contained with the string because the oil and the string were both on top
of the water so once the string was around the oil the oil had nowhere to go except to
follow the string.
2. Do you think it would be able to use a suction device – like the dropper used in this
investigation – to remove a large oil spill? Explain.
No, I do not think it is possible because it doesn’t even come close to working at a small
scale so the results on a large scale would be even more miniscule.
3. Why did the sand cause the oil to sink?
The sand caused the oil to sink because it is denser than water so when sprinkled over oil
it causes the oil to sink along with it.
4. Does sinking the oil with sand appear to be an effective method of cleaning up an oil
spill? Explain your answer.
No, because all that does is sink the oil deeper into the water but it is not disposing of the
water it is only hiding it.
5. Why did the straw not cause the oil to sink?
The straw caused the oil not to sink because it is less dense than the oil so therefore the
straw just floats on top of the water.
6. What effect did the detergent have on the oil? Would this effect aid in cleaning up an oil
spill?
The detergent caused the oil to disperse into many smaller drops of oil which would
make it even more difficult to clean up an oil spill.
7. If the oil could be ignited, would you consider this an effective and safe way to clean up
an oil spill? Explain.
Yes, I would consider that an effective way to clean up oil spills because the fire would
be on top of the water. However, this doesn’t work so it cannot be effective.
8. Based on your results, which method of cleanup tested in this investigation do you think it
the most effective? Defend your answer.
The most effective method I think is the containment with the string because on a large
scale people could move the oil into a safer area out of the water body to then be disposed
of.
9. If scientists are able to reclaim oil by removing it from the water’s surface, what
problems would they encounter in trying to make the oil suitable for reuse?
The problem that scientists would encounter is getting enough water drained away from
the oil so that the oil can be used effectively.
10. If you had to develop a plan to be used in cleaning up an oil spill, taking into
consideration factors such as speed of removal, damage to the environment, and cost,
what strategies would you include?
I would have the oil moved to a different area and then put into containers and taken to
places where the water could be pumped out so that the oil could be used again and so
that the water could be safely put back into where it came from free of oil pollution.
11. Research the use of bioremediation in cleaning up oil spills. Discuss the advantages and
disadvantages of using this technology.
Some of the big advantages of bioremediation are that it is much cheaper than many other
methods, it is a natural process, and it requires less energy than many other technologies.
Some disadvantages of bioremediation are that it is very slow, heavy metals are not
removed, and it does not remove all quantities of contaminants.
12. Research the way that oil is transported. Find out if other, more environmentally safe
methods exist for transporting oil. If they do, discuss why you think some of these
methods have not been put to use.
The methods I found for transporting oil have been used before although they may not be
so environmentally safe. These include barges and tankers for waterborne transportation
and pipelines, trucks, and trains on land.
Colby Geisinger
Frank Melvin
Keegan Fouse