LAB: Oil Spills

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER
Name: Kayla Lee

SECTION A – Oil Spill and Cleanup Simulations

Supplies needed:
 Metal/glass tray (baking pan will work)
 Water
 Salt
 Spoon
 Straw
 Dish detergent
 Rubbing Alcohol
 1 oz oil (any type will work)
 1 teaspoon powder chocolate (baking chocolate, or hot chocolate works great)
 Warm water from the sink
 Ice water ( add ice to 1 cup (8 oz) of water)
 Cotton balls (may use paper towels cut up into squares)

Step 1. Take 1 oz of Oil and place it in a small cup

Part 1 – Oil-in-Open Water Simulation

2. You now will add a small amount of your first simulated “crude oil” onto the surface of
the water. You can use a spoon to add a little to the dish. Record your observations.

Oil floats on the surface of the water in bubbles and then begins to dissolve into the
water.
3. Using the drinking straw, blow on the surface of the oiled water, lightly at first,
then more strongly. (If you do not have a straw, lean really close to the tray and
blow directly on the oil). This is a simulation of wind transport and mixing. What
happens to the oil?

When blowing through the straw it separated the oil into smaller pieces and covered some
of the surface.

4. Use the drinking straw to stir the oil and water as vigorously as possible without
spilling the liquid over the rim of the plate. (Again if you do not have a straw you
can use a spoon or knife to help mix the water and oil). This is a simulation of
mixing by wave action. What happens to the oil?

The oil continued to separate and now covered the whole surface.

5. Add several drops of the dishwashing liquid (Dawn works best) to the surface of the
oil/water mixture. This is a simulation of the use of oil dispersant. Record your
observations.

The oil spread out and away from the soap and was moved into the corners.

6. Can you think of any benefit to using oil dispersant in the real world? If so, what?

This could be used for oil spills/contamination to move the oil in groups and clean up
specific areas such as water sources, and areas were wildlife live. This can make the
cleanup process a little easier if done in groups or sections.

7. Can you think of any negative consequences of using a dispersant? If so, what?

There is not much research or practice of using a dispersant so there isn’t information or
tests done to know how it could affect the organisms that live in the water and how it
could have effects in the long-term future.

8. Empty out your metal tray in the designated area (it is safe to pour this down the
sink), then fill it with water again, and add some more oil. Place two sorbent pads
(cotton/gauze/paper towels) on the surface, and drag them around gently with
your fingers (or tweezers). Remove the sorbent pads and discard in the trash can. How
well did the sorbent pads soak up the oil?

The cotton didn’t absorb any of the oil it only absorbed the water in the pan.
Part 2 – Oil-on-Beach Simulation
Clean your plate and create a “wet sand beach” with some open water. (Please grab about ½ - 1
cup of sand/soil from your yard to add to the one side of your tray) Pour some of your simulated
“crude oil” onto the surface of the beach. What happens to the oil?

Although most of the oil was absorbed by the sand, some still managed to leak into the water.

Using fingers or tweezers, dip a new sorbent pad/cotton ball in each of the following, and attempt
to clean oil off the beach. For each substance, record your relative success in cleaning the oil off
the sand.

 Cold Water: Got some of the oil but most remained in the sand.

 Hot Water: Picked up less oil than the cold water, not much oil was removed.

 Rubbing Alcohol: Picked up the most oil so far but also removed some of the sand.

 Dishwashing Liquid: Removed almost all the oil but also removed a lot of sand.

What special problems are evident with regard to cleaning oil off a sand beach?

Cleaning oil off a sandy beach poses challenges in containing and removing the oil. Pushing oil
into the water or removing sand from the beach are not effective methods. Additionally, there
may be more oil than visible, complicating the cleanup process.

Part 3 – Conclusions
Based on your observations during these simulations, what would be your recommendations for
clean-up techniques in a real oil spill, for each of the following situations? (Note: Doing nothing
is one possible option.) Explain your reasoning.

a. Open Water: When dealing with oil spills in open water, it may be beneficial to use an oil
dispersant. It would be wise to develop a plan for addressing each spill in advance, so you can
determine where to apply the dispersant to effectively move the oil away.

b. Beach: The dispersant could be helpful when cleaning up the beach but may not be able to just
be poured openly into the ocean. So many using large sponges or tarps with the solution to help
clean up the beach in sections.