ChapterI

INTRODUCTION
BackgroundoftheStudy
Oil has become an essential in our daily lives and has made quite an effect in our
environment. Oil isusedasfuel forcarsandisalsousedinfactories,tomanufactureproducts.In
the past few years, many oil spills have occurred, which have greatly affected the survival of
marine life and the state of bodies of water. Rice hull and sawdust are products which are
believed to be able to absorb oil spills and leave not much hazardous effects. Many methods
have been tested inordertoattempttoabsorbtheoilandsomeexamples,asstatedbyCuiY*, Li
J, Zhang Y and Zhang M from the College of Environment and Resources,DalianNationalities
University, Dalian116600, China, Physical methods including fence treatment, skimmers and
oiladsorptionmaterialssuchasstraw,sawdust,etcChemical
methods including dispersing agent, oil condensation agent and other chemical products New
treatmentmethodssuchasbioremediationtechnologyandcombustionmethod,etc..

Considering the fact that human beings, as well as other animals and plants, cannot
survive without water, water is a very important commodity in our lives. Water is used to
eliminate waste, regulate our bodies temperature, transport nutrients, aid chemical and
metabolic reactions, etc. Since our water is derived from bodies of water, the more that these
bodies of water get polluted with oil, the less the supply of water will be for the continuously
growing population of living organisms. Thus, finding effective ways to clean up oil spills is
crucialandimportanttopreventgreaterdamagethatcantakegenerationstosolve.

ProblemandHypothesis
There is an increasing number of oil spills in the past few years, which is the cause of
many deaths in the ocean and the decrease of livelihood for many. Oil spills can not be
prevented,becauseitiscausedduetoaccidents.However,thepropercleaningcanbeattainedto
lessen the damages of oil spills. Therefore, the need to explore for a solution to this problem is
necessary. Finding a faster and cheaper alternative to clean oil spill can save lives of marine
animals,plantsandevenpeoplewhomaygetpoisonedbythefishestheyeatthatwereintheoil
spill. Cleaning up oil spills for a cheaper price will also have a good effect on industries and
economyforoilspillcleanupscancosthundredsofthousandsofpesos.
Anaturalandeffectivesolutionisthepossibilityofusingricehullashandsawdustto
helpinthebioremediationofoilspills.

PROBLEM:Canricehullashandsawdusthelpinthebioremediationofoilspills?
HYPOTHESIS: If rice hull ash or sawdust is added to an oil spill, then it can absorb the oil,
thusmakingcleanupeasier.

Rice hull ash and sawdust is simply placed in an oil spillanditisexpectedtoabsorbthe

oilquickly.Itisalreadyinthecabinetsofmanydepartmentstoresincaseanyspillageofoil
occurs.Itisusedtocleanitinaquickandeasymanner.Ifwecouldusethismethodbutina
biggerarea,liketheocean.Itmaytakelongerthancleaningsmalloilspillsbutitwillstillbe
easierandeffective.Therefore,theuseofhusksofricecanabsorboilandcleanupoilspills.
Thus,lesseningtheharmfuleffectsoilspillsbringtotheenvironment.

ScopeandLimitationsoftheStudy
In the experiment, the rice hull ash (RHA) and sawdust soak up water as well as oil,
causing the need for more rice hull ash or sawdust to fully absorb all the oil. Because these
materials are produced using trees and rice, more deforestation will occur, especially if the
absorption methodofusingtheRHAorsawdustinalargerscale.Destructionoftheenvironment
caused by excess RHA and saw dust in the water, negatively affecting the organisms in oceans
and seas that oil spills occur. RHA can only be removed from rice in such a large scale by
factories causing pollution in the air as well as in the water. RHA and sawdust are required for
many other purposes and to use these for soaking up oil spills will require producing more and
moreplantsthatwillbecutdown.

This experiment did not show the amount of material wasted in production of the saw

dust and RHA if used in a larger scale. This procedure does not allow accurate materialratioto
oil because of the possibility of it soaking up water. It doesnotshowthenegativeeffectsofthis
method of absorbing oil to organisms living in the said body of water meaning the effects of
oilsoaked sawdust or RHA to the lives or organisms. To use this method in a large scale will
cause pollution and will suffocate water animals as well as plants. RHA and saw dust also
require a specific environment tobeproducedin,thereforeifalargeamountofoilspillshappen,
theremaynotbeenoughRHAorsawdusttoabsorbit.
As for the marine life, the experiment did not include the effect on their health
conditions, different effects of oil spills on animal and plant conditions and howthismayaffect

their survival because of the harmful effects of oil.Exposingmarinelifeto factoryoilwillhave

lastingeffectstotheirhealthandthehealthofotherorganismsthemarinelifemayinteractwith.
ThisexperimentofcomparingtheeffectivenessofRHAandsawdustinabsorbingcrude
oilfromseawaterconductedbyplacingseveraldropsofcrudeoilintoseawaterina
containerandplacingeitherRHAorsawdustintoabsorbtheoil.

SignificanceoftheStudy
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment
especially in bodies of water due to human activity. Accidental spills from problems instorage,
handling, transport, accidents from routine maintenance activities and intentional dischargesare
some of the common causes of oil spills. One of the worst oil spills that the United States
experienced happened last April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico. After 4 days, underwater
cameras revealed the BP pipe of the Deepwater Horizon was leaking oil andgasabout42miles
off the coast of Louisiana. The well was capped on July 15, 2010, 87 days later and over 130
milliongallonsofoilhasbeenreleasedintotheocean.

Oil is hydrophobic, meaning it does not mix with water. Instead, it forms slicks on the
surface of the water making cleaning an even more difficult task. Becausecleaningtakesalong
time, oil can spread to other parts of the body of water by the wind or other environmental
conditions. The oil floating on the surface of the watercanblocksunlightfrompassingthrough,
thus making plants underwaternotcapableofundergoingphotosynthesis.Whentheseplantsdie,
other organisms will eventually follow as oxygen levels drop because ofthelackof food.Aside

from this, oil itself is also a very toxic material that can killalargenumberoflivingorganisms.
Oil can penetrate through birds' fur, breaking down the feathers' insulating capabilities. This
makes the bird heavier and unable to fly, eventotheextentofkillingthemthroughpoisoningor
hypothermia. In the oil spill stated earlier, rise in deaths of Dolphins intheGulfofMexicoever
sincetheoilspillhappenedwasreported.

The Philippines has also suffered from the massive destruction of oil spills. LastAugust
11, 2006, a Petronchartered single hull vessel carrying 2.1 million litres of fuel oil sank in the
Guimaras Strait off the coast of Guimaras and Negros Occidental provinces causing over 200,
000 liters of oil to spill in the Strait. The oilspillbroughtaboutextremedamagestomarinelife,
damagingTaklongIsland NationalMarineReserve,amarinesanctuaryandfeedingandbreeding
ground for fish and other species. "The damage may be felt byatleasttwogenerations,saidDr.
Jose Ingles, ecoregion coordinator of the World Wide Fund for Nature in the Philippines,
IndonesiaandMalaysia.

Oil spills not only have effects on the environment, but also on the economy. Cleaning

the oil spill already calls for a lot of financing, not to mentionthemassiveamountofpetroleum
lost. Since the coming of theindustrial revolution,oilspillsandtheirhorrid effectshavebecome
a common sight. Because of these reasons, finding a faster and cheaper alternativewaytoclean
oil spills is crucial andcanhelppreventfurtherdamagethatcanleadtonumerousenvironmental
andeconomicalproblems.

ChapterII
REVIEWOFRELATEDLITERATURE
In this chapter, the researchers have compiled information to help make the experiment
clearer. Information in this chapter were taken from previous experiments and past and present
experiences that will help make clear the reason of choosing such topic and understanding the
experimentaldesign.

An oil spill is an accidental spill of liquid petroleum hydrocarbon in the environment,

especially marine areas. Usually caused by human activities, oil spill is a form of pollution and
has a number of harmful effects on the environment and even economy. Thus, finding a faster
and cheaper alternative to cleaning up oil spills is important and will help prevent irreversible
damagesandproblemstoourenvironment.

Oil is composed of all building blocks called triglycerides, which is a type of fat. These
fat molecules are also found in the body, and is a main component in the chemical structure of
crude oil. Triglycerides are known to be a rich source of energy, and this nature is the reason
why crude oil is used tofuelourcars,planesandevengeneratepower.Becauseofthis,crudeoil
has become a very necessary commodity in our daily lives. This dependency has sparked the
growth of multibillion dollar industries where crude oil is transported via giant oiltankerswho
roam the seas, bringing them all over the worldtocopeupwiththedemandforcrudeoilaround
the world. During this transportation, accidents may happen suchasoilspillsthatcauseextreme
damagetobodiesofwater.

Spilled oil can cause harmful effects on living organisms as it contains poisonous
chemicals such as carbon monoxide, lead and sulfur dioxide. These can affect organisms either
through oral ingestion, inhalation, or externalexposurethroughskinoreyeirritation.Becauseof
these reasons,oilmustbecleanedupinthefastestwaypossibletopreventfurtherdamage on the
environmentwhereoilhasbeenexposedto.

The properties of oil however make this task of cleaning oil extremely difficult. As we
know,oilfloatsonwaterforitislessdense.

Surface tension causes dissimilar liquids to separate thus making oil float. This means
that oil requires special measures for it to be absorbed andcleanedproperly,leadingtomethods
suchastheuseofsawdustasamaterialtoabsorboil.

Today, youwillbeable tofindsawdustspecificallyusedforabsorptionofliquidssuchas

oil and chemical spills, like those being sold in Pollards Sawdust Supplies, the leading
manufacturer and distributer of Sawdust. These are especially crafted from 100% natural
softwood and kiln dried. This type of sawdust is known as ASS Sawdust, ASS stands for
absorption soaking sawdust. According to their website, their sawdust are highly absorbent as
well. These are bought to be able to soak up oilinaquick,naturalandeasyway.Italsowillnot
cause any mess. A lot of warehouses or garages keep Pollards ASS in their storageincase any
spills occur. You simply place Pollards ASS onto the spillage and watch it as it soaksupallof
thespillage.

Sawdust is a byproduct of cutting, sawing drilling, etc. wood. It is also a byproduct of

animals, like the woodpecker, which live in wood. Sawdust is made up of many small particles
of wood. It is a great product for the absorption of oil and other liquids because it can absorb
severaltimesitsmass.

Rice hull ash is produced from hulls of rice and provides protection as well as absorbs
moisture. The high porosity and absorption capability together with the insolubility in acid and
basemakeRHAasuitableabsorbentforawholevarietyofliquid,includingoil.

ChapterIII
METHODOLOGY
The researcherschosetofindasolutiontoeffectivelycleanupoilspillsinthefastestway
possible to prevent further damage to the environment. Oil spills are known to be able to cause
severe damage to the environment and even irreversible effects to the body of water, its
surroundings and other organisms within the vicinity. Poisoning of organisms leading to death,
andevenadownfallonthecountryseconomyareeffectsofoilspills.Thus,theresearchershave
decidedthatfindingafasterandcheapertocleanupinevitableoilspillsisimportantanduseful.

Theresearcherstestedtheeffectivenessofsawdustandricehullashinabsorbingcrude
oil.Twoidenticalcontainerswerefilledwith500mlofseawater.Then,10gramsofcrudeoil
wassimultaneouslyaddedintoeachbasin.Thefirstsetup(setupA)contained15gramsofrice
hullash,andthesecondsetup(setupB)contained15gramsofsawdust.Bothwereleftinthe
basinsfor15seconds.Theresearchersobservedtherateofabsorptionandtheamountofoil
absorbedbycheckingthecolorofthewaterandthespeedatwhichthewaterbecameclearer.
Threetrialsweredoneinordertokeeptheexperimentaccurate.Whenallthreetrialswere
completed,theresearchersstudiedthedatarecoveredfromtheexperiment,specificallytherate
andamountofoilabsorbedbyeachsetup.

Theexperimentwasdoneinoutsideenvironmentinordertosimulateenvironmentof
bodiesofwaterwhereoilspillsmayhappen.SeawaterwastakenfromManilaBay,aharbour
whichservesastheportofManila.

MaterialsNeeded
15gramsRicehullash
15gramsSawdust
10mlCrudeOil
1000mlseawater
2identicalbasins

Procedure:
1.Filltwoidenticalbowlswith500gramsofseawater.
2.Drop10gramsofcrudeoilinbothbasins.Takenotethatthismustbedonesimultaneouslyin
ordertoarriveataccurateresults.
3.Add15gramsofRHAinonebowlandsawdustintheother.
4.After15seconds,useaspoontoslowlymovetheRHAandsawdusttotheportionsofthe
waterwithoil.
5.Observetherateofabsorptionandamountofoilabsorbed.
6.Repeatstepstwiceinordertoobservethreetrials.Thiswillensurethatresultsareaccurate.
7.Averagevaluesfromthethreetrialsandcomparedatatocontrolgroup
8.Collecteddatawillthenbeplacedontographsforamorescrutinouscomparison.
9.Aconclusioncanthenbemadewiththecollecteddata.

10

twobasinsfilledwith500mlofseawater

droppingofcrudeoilineachbasin

11

(fromlefttoright)droppingofRHAinbasindroppingofsawdustinbasin

(fromlefttoright)endresultofbasinwithsawdustendresultofbasinwithRHA

12

ChapterIV

PRESENTATIONANDANALYSISOFDATA

The researchers aimtofindacheaperandeasierwaytoaidinthecleanupofoilspills in

bodies of water through the usage of sawdust and rice hull ash as oil absorbents. In the
experiment the researchers had two set ups to test the ability of sawdustandRHAtoabsorboil.
The group did several trials to see which option, is better for absorbing oil spills without
affecting the water in which the oilsspillislocated.Thegroupplacedcrudeoilintoabasinwith
water and added RHA and sawdust on top of the oil in their respective basins. The group did
several trials in which they adjusted the amounts of variables to obtain optimum results. At the
end of the experiment, the group concluded that usingsawdusttocleanupoilspillsisbetterand
moreefficient.

13

Table4.1AdvantagesandDisadvantagesofusingSawdustandRicehullashasoilabsorbents

Thetablebelowsummarizestheresultsofthethreetrialsintheexperiment.Itshowsthe
comparisonbetweensawdustandRHAsabilitytobeoilabsorbents.

Sawdust
Advantages

RiceHullAsh(RHA)
Disadvantages

Easytoclean
Needsalarge
Cheaper
amount
Easiertoacquire
Absorbscompletely

Advantages
Needsasmaller
amount

14

Disadvantages
Moredifficultto
find
Moreexpensive
Darkcolourmakes
formessierlook
Sinkstobottomof
basinmoreiftoo
muchisadded

Table4.2OutcomesofeachTrial

Theresearchershavedonetheexperimentinthreetrialsinordertoarriveatthemost
accurateresults.Ineachtrial,equalamountsofsawdustandricehullashwereaddedinto
differentbasinswithseawaterandoil.Theresearchersobservedtherateandamountofoil
absorptionforeachtrial.Theseweretheresultsofeach:

Trial1

Trial2

Trial3

RHA
BlackcolorofRHAcaused
thewatertolookdirty
Abletoabsorboilforming
clumpsmakingiteasierto
clean.
SmalleramountofRHA
wouldbeneededandwould
aidforeasiercleanup.

RHA
SameamountofRHA
Sameresultsarose
researchersthendecidedto
altertheamountofRHAfor
thethirdtrial

RHA
10gramsofRHA
(decreased)
Bettercleanupfornotmuch
excesswaspresenttoclean
up
LessRHAaidedineasier
cleanup

SAWDUST
Canabsorbtheoilandform
clumpsmakingiteasierto
clean.
Largeramountofsawdust
wouldaidforeasiercleanup.

SAWDUST
Sameamountofsawdust
Sameresultsarose
researchersdecidedtoalter
amountofsawdustforthe
thirdtrial

SAWDUST
20gramsofsawdust
(increased)
Showedbettereffects
throughclarityofwater
moresawdustresultedin
clearerandcleanerwater

15

ChapterV

SUMMARY,CONCLUSIONANDRECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY

The researchers questioned if RHA and Sawdust were viable oil absorbents for oilspills
and came up with the hypothesis that it is plausible. With three trials, the group observed the
ability of sawdust and RHA to absorb oil from water through dropping crude oil in separate
basins and adding sawdust or RHA to absorb. In this way, the researchers hope to share their
findings to be of help to provinces and rural areas who may not have enoughresourcestoclean
up oil spills. These methods may be used in order to save the environment from these
unavoidableaccidentswithouthurtingthecountryseconomyandotherorganisms.Throughthis,
they have found that both rice hull ash and sawdust are suitable absorbents with their own
advantagesanddisadvantagesintermsofefficiency,cost,availability,etc.

CONCLUSION
The researchers conclude that both sawdust and rice hull ash are suitable oil absorbents
during cleaning of an oil spill. Sawdust isacheaperalternativeand,atthesametime, it isbeing
sold in a lotofstores.Ricehullash,ontheotherhand,is notaseasytofind,butisneededinless
quantity compared to Sawdust. Rice hull ash also has a very dark color, which makes thewater
look unattractive and dirty. Nonetheless, both sawdust and rice hull ash are great alternativesto
cleanupoilspillsinaquickandeffectivemanner.

16

RECOMMENDATIONS
WhiletheresearcherswereabletoconductanexperimentregardingtheuseofSawdust
and Rice Hull Ash as an alternative to absorb oil spills, there were areas that have not been
covered. In future experiments,itisrecommendedtousedifferentvarietiesofoilsuchheavyoil,
low sulfur oil, or diesel which are all fuels of that sea transporters use. This could prove which
absorbent would work better with certain types of oil. The experiment could take place in a
larger space which could determine which absorbent soaks up more oil. It is alsorecommended
that the experiment could be conducted in a less controlled environment. This could show the
effects of sawdust and ricehull ashinthehealthof marinelifethroughtestingtheexperimentin
an environment with living organisms. In this way, the researcherscanobserveifusingsawdust
orRHAwillaidinthebettermentofspecieshealthinthesituationofanoilspill.

17

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.sawdust.com.au/absorptionsawdust.html

http://www.ricehull.com/common_uses/

http://www.fediol.eu/web/oil+characteristics/1011306087/list1187970078/f1.html

http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oilandchemicalspills/oilspills/howoilharmsanimalsand
plantsmarineenvironments.html

http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/text_version/chemicals.php?id=73

http://ocean.si.edu/gulfoilspill

http://www.conserveenergyfuture.com/effectsofoilspills.php

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_spill

http://www.environmentalpollutioncenters.org/oilspill/causes/

http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/oilandchemicalspills/oilspills/howoilharmsanimalsand
plantsmarineenvironments.html

http://www.fecgp.org/html/guimaras.html

http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/ph/multimedia/slideshows/theguimarasoilspillinciden/

https://sludge.wordpress.com/page/2/

18

APPENDICES

RiceHullAshvs.SawdustinabsorbingCrudeOil

CrudeOil
|
Fill2identicalcontainerswith1000gramsof
Seawaterandadd10gramsofthecrudeoil
Simultaneouslyintothecontainers.Wait
15seconds.
|
SetupA(RiceHullAsh)

SetupB(sawdust)

Add15gramsofRiceHullAshto
Add15gramsofsawdustto
Thecontainerandwait15seconds
Thecontainerandwait15seconds
|______________________________________________________|
|
Observetherateofabsorptionandamountofoilabsorbed.
|
Repeatstepstwiceinordertoobservethreetrials
|
Averagevaluesfromthethreetrialsandcomparedata
|
Placecollecteddataintographs
|
Formulateconclusion

19

Trial1

Trial2

Trial3

RHA
Itwasobservedthattheblack
colorofRHAcausedthe
watertolookdirtybutwas
abletoabsorboilforming
clumpsmakingiteasierto
clean.Theresearchersalso
concludedthatasmaller
amountofRHAwouldbe
neededandwouldaidfor
easiercleanup.
BlackcolorofRHAcaused
thewatertolookdirty
Abletoabsorboilforming
clumpsmakingiteasierto
clean.
SmalleramountofRHA
wouldbeneededandwould
aidforeasiercleanup.

RHA
ThesameamountofRHA
wasusedinordertocompare
withthefirsttrial.Thesame
resultsarose.
SameamountofRHA
Sameresultsarose

RHA
Inthistrial,theresearchers
decidedtouselessRHAin
ordertoseehowthiswould
affectthecleanlinessofthe
water.Itwasseenthat10
gramsofRHAaidedinbetter
cleanupfornotmuchexcess
waspresenttocleanup.
10gramsofRHA
(decreased)
Bettercleanupfornotmuch
excesswaspresenttoclean
up

SAWDUST
Itwasclearlyseenthat
sawdustcanabsorbtheoil
andformclumpsmakingit
easiertoclean.The
researchersconcludedthata
largeramountofsawdust
wouldaidforeasiercleanup.
Canabsorbtheoilandform
clumpsmakingiteasierto
clean.
Largeramountofsawdust
wouldaidforeasiercleanup.

SAWDUST
Thesameamountofsawdust
wasusedinordertocompare
withthefirsttrial.Thesame
resultsarose.
Sameamountofsawdust
Sameresultsarose

SAWDUST
Inthistrial,20gramsof
sawdustwasusedtocompare
withtheothertrials.The
amountshowedbettereffects
throughtheclarityofthe
water.
20gramsofsawdust
(increased)
Showedbettereffects
throughclarityofwater

20