Last Updated
8/01/03

Graduate Credit Workshop

Enviro-bond

Instructor Notes:

Enviro-bond is a synthetic polymer specially designed to bond to petroleum compounds (hydrocarbons). Though it bonds well to oil, gasoline, and diesel, it will not bond to water. Enviro-bond is environmentally safe and will not harm living creatures. The recovered solid is capable of being recycled in order to extract the oil/fuel that has been absorbed. Marvel Mystery Oil is used in this experiment because it is chemically similar to crude oil, is easily visible, and demonstrates Enviro-bond's ability to not only absorb the oil/fuel, but also the fumes produced by these hydrocarbons.

Side Note: Rumor has it that the idea for Enviro-bond came from an oil rig worker. As the story goes, he was watching PBS one day and saw a story about synthetic polymers, which happened to demonstrate how Water Lock worked. He wondered why the same technology could not be used to make a polymer that would absorb oils. As he worked on an oil rig he had tried numerous methods to clean oil from his skin after a day's work but nothing seemed to clean off the crude oil from his skin (even strong detergents that were harmful to the skin did not effectively remove the crude). He did some research to find out what he could about the possibility of making a hydrocarbon-absorbing polymer. Convinced it could be done, he called a chemist friend of his and presented his idea. Enviro-bond was the final product. We mention this to illustrate that it is not necessarily the "smart" people who have the ideas, but those who can observe a situation and think about its implications. It is important for your students to understand that being "smart" is not just a matter of getting "A's".

In the words of Blaise Pascal:

"Curiosity is, in great and generous minds, the first passion, and the last".

Links for Additional Study

In Class Activity

Safety Precautions: Enviro-bond ™ may cause irritation to the eyes; material has slight oral toxicity. In case of skin contact wash with soap and water. In case of eye contact rinse profusely and call a physician. Do not burn Enviro-bond™ combustion products are toxic; keep from extreme heat and open flame. Marvel Mystery Oil ® may cause mild irritation to eyes. Combustible liquid; keep away from heat and open flame. WE DO NOT RECOMMEND LETTING STUDENTS DO THIS EXPERIMENT ON THEIR OWN. IT SHOULD ONLY BE DONE BY A SAFETY CONSCIOUS ADULT.

Use Enviro-bond to clean a simulated oil spill.

• Enviro-bond
• Marvel Mystery Oil
• Transparent water container (an 8 oz. glass works great)
• Water

Directions:

• Place a half-full glass of water on the demonstration table for students to see.
• Inform the students that this water represents a lake or other body of water.
• Pour the Marvel Mystery Oil into the glass of water (you'll need about a ½ centimeter layer on top of the water).
• The oil represents what an oil spill from a ship would do to a water body (note how the oil and water do not mix because the oil is less dense than the water and floats on top of it).

• To clean up the oil, sprinkle some Enviro-bond onto the oil spill. Within a couple minutes the Enviro-bond will absorb the oil and turn to a rubbery mass. You may now put your hand into the glass and pull out the disc of oil soaked Enviro-bond. The water in the glass is now oil free and may be consumed, HOWEVER, we do not recommend this as there is still oil on the sides of the glass that would taste pretty nasty if you were to drink it

Contact Information:
Junior Engineering, Utah State University
3735 Old Main Hill
Logan, Ut. 84322-3735
Phone:(435)797-8000       Fax:(435)797-8005
URL:http://juniorengineering.usu.edu/
Email:jreweb@cc.usu.edu

Copyright © 1997, Utah State University
Junior Engineering. All rights reserved.