Photo-Oxidized vs Fresh Oil Spill Clean Up Simulated via Olive Oil and Detergent

Overview

The experiment’s objective was to find the efficiency of oil dispersants on photo-oxidized oil compared to fresh oil. Oil spills need to be cleaned up effectively to mitigate their detrimental environmental effects. However, the sun alters the oil into compounds that are harder to disperse, and ineffective oil dispersants can harm the environment (Introduction to Dispersants, n.d.). Standardized oil dispersant testing tests fresh oil as opposed to photo-oxidized oil while oil spills start to photo-oxidize after a few hours of sun exposure. When oil is photo-oxidized, bonds are broken, and oxygen attaches (Ward, 2018). The dispersant effectiveness test was determined by simulating an oil spill cleanup with olive oil and laundry detergent; detergent efficiency was calculated, with a separatory funnel, to find the amount of dispersed oil. The dispersed oil is mixed with water and detergent and exits the separatory funnel leaving the undispersed oil in the funnel. Dispersants contain detergents, and both are composed of a solvent and a surfactant (Ward, 2018). A study conducted by Colin Ward at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution found that oil at the Deepwater Horizon was harder to disperse when it was photo-oxidized. So it was hypothesized that the photo-oxidized oil would be harder to disperse compared to fresh oil. Fresh oil had a higher detergent effectiveness than the dispersion of photo-oxidized oil. The data support the hypothesis that photo-oxidized oil is harder to disperse. The experiment's data supports that oil dispersant testing could be improved by testing photo-oxidized oil.

Competition history

• AJAS 2024 Category not listed

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