Name:_____________

Date:______________

How Different Soaps Interact with Oil

Essential Vocabulary (Matching):
- A: Surfactant
- B: Lipids
- C: Density
- D: Hydrophilic
- E: Hydrophobic
- F: Emulsion
- G: Suds
- H: Soluble
- I: Insoluble
1: A group of organic compounds that are usually insoluble in water, that with proteins and
carbohydrates constitute the principal structural components of living cells, and that include fats,
waxes, and related and derived compounds: __________________.
2: An ‘affinity’ for water _________________.
3: A dispersion of one liquid in another which is not soluble (oil in water) _________________.
4: What is created when soap is agitated in a liquid: _________________.
5: Oil is _____________________ in water.
6: A agent that breaks down surface tension between two liquids: __________________.
7: Mass/Volume: ___________________.
8: Repellent to water: ___________________.
9: Salt is ___________________ in water.
 Name:_____________
Date:______________

Introduction
Without a doubt, in your everyday lives, you all have seen the interactions between oil
and water. Whether it be oil slick on a puddle, or grease on a pile of dirty dishes, oil seems to be
everywhere.

Oil is classified as a lipid, an organic compound that is hydrophobic. This means that
the chemical makeup of oils deters the creation of bonds between oil and water. Oil is
also less dense than water, and
therefore sits on the surface of water.
The density and hydrophobic
properties of oil are what keep it from
mixing with water. How can we clean
up oil then?

Commercial industries use heavy

detergents to breakdown oil on a molecular
level. Everyday, however, we use soaps and
other surfactants to breakdown oil so that it
can be washed away and processed. Soap molecules have hydrophobic ends that can bond with
oil particles. The other ends of soap molecules are hydrophilic, which allows them to bond with
water, allowing the water to wash away the oil. This reaction creates the telltale suds created by
soap.

It is interesting to see how chemistry is associated with the clean-up efforts of the
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. On April 20, 2010, the oil drilling rig
Deepwater Horizon, operating in the Gulf of Mexico, exploded and sank. This horrific accident
resulted in a human, economic, and environmental disaster. More than 4 million barrels of oil
were spilled over an 87-day period, the largest spill of oil in the history of marine oil drilling
operations and the worst spill in U.S. history. The well, located about 42 miles off the Louisiana
coast at a depth of over 5,000 feet beneath the ocean’s surface, was finally capped on July 15,
2010. The oil slick off the Mississippi Delta could be seen from NASA’s Terra satellite.
 Name:_____________
Date:______________

Immediately after the accident, BP, Transocean (the owner of the rig), and various
government agencies began immediate efforts to control the spread of the oil and protect
shorelines and sensitive estuaries. They used booms to physically contain the surface oil and
about 1.8 million gallons of chemical dispersants to break down the oil into smaller droplets and
help them to sink. The dispersant was made with bio-degradable surfactants in a low-toxicity, de-
aromatized hydrocarbon solvent. The dispersant was distributed by into the oil slick. The
surfactants began working to reduce the surface tension at the oil/water interface. With the oil

film’s cohesion lessened, the action or agitation of the waves helped to break up the slick into

small droplets of oil (an emulsion). The thinking at the time was that the small droplets of oil
treated with the surfactant would ramp up biodegradation and be consumed by microbes within
the ocean. Some studies suggest that although the dispersants helped to reduce the oil on the
surface of the water, it made conditions worse for the environment as the dispersant actually
slowed down biodegradation. As a result, more undegraded oil ended up on the floor of the
ocean. Also, since the surfactants broke up the oil into smaller droplets, it made it easier for the
oil to be digested by wildlife. The use of surfactants for treatment of oil spills continues to be
studied to assess effectiveness.
 Name:_____________
Date:______________

Procedure
1: Obtain 3 mason jars or petri dishes and fill them halfway with tap water.
2: To each respective jar/dish, add (blue, red, and green) food coloring to aid in distinguishing
water from oil and each jar from each other.
- Jar 1: Blue
- Jar 2: Red
- Jar 3: Green
3: In each jar, add 25ml of canola oil.
- Notice how the oil layers on top of the water, they do not mix.
o Which layer is on top? Which layer is denser?
o Why won’t the oil and water mix? What properties does this exhibit?
4: Now add 5 drops of soap to each jar. Do you notice any reactions?
- 5 ‘flecks’ of bar soap in Jar 1
- 5 drops of liquid hand soap in Jar 2
- 5 drops of dish soap in Jar 3
5: Stir each jar with a clean rod, what happens?
- Are there any differences from jar to jar?
6: Continue to agitate the mixtures until an emulsion forms. Record how long it takes for an
emulsion to form in each jar.
- How long did each jar take?
- Why do you think there is a difference between the soaps?

Questions
1: Dawn brand dish soap was used extensively by volunteers and other responders to remove oil
from wildlife such as birds and turtles after the BP oil spill. What properties of dish soap are
beneficial for this application?
2: Although soaps and detergents break down oil, why is this not enough to clean up the oil in
the environment resulting from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico?
3: The oil from the BP oil spill was seen from far away (Nasa’s Terra satellite). The oil floated
on the surface and was insoluble in water. How do surfactants allow oil to break down in water?
What properties of the surfactants could actually slow down natural degradation of the oil from
microbes?
 Name:_____________
Date:______________

4: In the experiment, you may have observed that soap alone does not break down oil.
Agitation/scrubbing/mixing is required for the necessary reactions to occur. What properties of
the ocean were used to cause agitation to promote break down of the oil particles?
5: What are other methods responders can use to clean up shorelines and estuaries that have been
impacted by oil spills?
6: There are concerns that the toxins used in the dispersant for cleanup of the BP oil spill
bioaccumulate. How can this impact ecosystems over time?
7: Floating oil puts some organisms and environments at risk, but reduces risk potential for
others within the water column or on the ocean floor. Dispersants helped to remove the oil from
the surface of the ocean in the BP oil spill but allowed more oil to migrate through the water
column and to the ocean floor. Discuss how this might impact different species and marine
ecosystems.