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Environmental Pollution Science Fair Project

Detergent Types and Oil Spill Cleanup

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Detergent Types and Oil Spill Cleanup | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
Does detergent help or hurt oil spill cleanup? Polypropylene pads soak up oil from water during spill response. Adding detergent to the water might change how well these pads work. You mix engine oil and water in a container. Then you add one of four detergents: Tide, Wisk, Jet Dry, or Dawn. After the mixture settles, you place a polypropylene pad in it. You weigh the pad before and after to measure oil absorption. A control test with no detergent shows the baseline. The results reveal whether detergent helps or blocks oil absorption.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that detergent decreases the ability of polypropylene pads to absorb oil spills.

Method & Materials

You will fill a container with water and oil, add detergent, stir, and leave it to set. Then, you will put a polypropylene pad into the container and leave it to set. After that, you will remove the pad and measure the mass of oil absorbed.
You will need 600ml of engine oil, 3 liters of water, 15ml of Tide, Wisk, Jet dry, and Dawn dish soap, 2 empty bottles/trays, 30 equal-sized polypropylene pads, a stirrer, and a weighing scale.

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Results

The results of the experiment show that detergents do interfere with the oil absorbency of polypropylene pads, though the difference is not very significant. This experiment can help educate the public to be aware of the effect of detergents on the oil absorbency of polypropylene pads.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it helps us understand how detergents can affect the oil absorbency of polypropylene pads, which can be used to soak up oil spills and leaks.

Also Consider

Variations to consider: Will temperature affect the absorbency of polypropylene pads? Besides detergents, what other liquids might affect the absorbency of polypropylene pads? What might happen if another type of oil was used instead of Engine oil?

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.

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