Corncob (Zea Saccharata) as an Effective Crude Oil Adsorbent than Coir
Alija May P. Apego IX – Curie
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of Research 2
Agusan National High School A.D. Curato St., Butuan City
Mrs. Marie Lou S. Paler
July 23, 2015Chapter 1 Introduction In this study, the purpose is explained. It consists of importance, hypothesis, the problem, limitations, and the variables.
Background of the Study Oil spills are environmental disasters (Dave & Ghaly, 2011)
currently
lives
are
at
destroying stake.
bodies
Oil
spills
of
water
are
where
liquid
marine
petroleum
hydrocarbon released to different bodies of water due to human activity. The unintentional or negligent release of used gasoline solvents, crankcase lubricants by industries and individuals (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2015) and pipe-line vandalization (Ndimele,
2010)
may
also
be
classified
as
acute
anthropogenic sources of oil. (Wang & Stout, 2010) The oil spill is a problem for the livelihoods of the population who depend on fishing and tourism. (World Organization et al., 2013)
Statement of the Problem This
study
aims
to
identify
if
corncobs
can
help
decrease oil spills in polluted bodies of water in the community. It answers the question: Is a corncob, on its natural
state
an
effective
adsorbent
for
oil
spills
in
polluted bodies of water?
Statement of the Hypothesis Yes, corncobs on its natural state can be an effective oil adsorbent or has potential to decrease the amount of used oil from contaminated bodies of water.
Significance of the Study The outcome of the study may be an implication to help communities whose bodies of water are contaminated by used oil. The corncobs being experimented to be as an adsorbent may decrease current or possible oil spills from bodies of water where factories or industries are being planted on have no proper waste disposal. It may also help ensure the protection of public health and marine life.
Scope and Limitations of the Study The research and experiment is only limited to corncobs on its natural state an oil adsorbent. It does not include corncobs
with
floating
devices,
wrapped
in
its
husks,
cooked, or without kernels. Also the study is limited to contaminated bodies of water, specifically on oil spills. To have an accurate observations, the experiment was done three times with precise measurements. Conceptual Framework
Independent Variables
Intervening Variables
Corn Cobs Liquid
Water
Petroleum
current Amount of
Oil Weather
Hydrocarbon Salt Water
Dependent Variables
Corn Cobs
adsorbs oil Petroleum is less toxic
Review of Related Literature Various studies related to corncobs as an absorbent for oil spill have been conducted so for many of which are partly similar to this study. The Gulf Study was conducted on June 2010 as a feedback after the explosion of the Deep Water
Horizon
drilling
Rig,
resulting
to
the
most
devastating oil spill in the United States. The Gulf study aims to determine both physical and mental effects (Sandler, 2010) and the long-term effects. (Petri, 2015) Both studies are gathering information as a benefit for the public to be more aware of the dangers of health and the environment by hazardous substances when not managed properly. (LaGrega et al., 2010) Similar studies had created solutions with the use of image processing and computer vision (Radhika & Padmavathi, 2011) such as the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) an image segmentation which is already used for medical purposes and detects floating oil on the surface (Hess et al., 2013) to permit
effective
environment.
satellite
(Bhogle
&
surveillance
Patil,
2012)
in
the
marine
Desulphurization
of
liquid fuels by adsorption with the use of mineral clays (Shakirullah et al., 2012)
According to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF), the effects of an oil spill will depend on a variety of factors including the quantity and type of oil spilled, (Fingas, 2012) and how it affects the marine environment. The other key factors include the biological and
ecological
attributes
of
the
area;
the
ecological
significance of key species and their interaction with oil pollution as well as the time of year. (ITOPF, 2010) The similarities of the studies are that both have intervening variables, including the type of oil that has been spilled to the body of water and on how the chemical substance to be used interacts with the marine environment. Oceanic oil spills became a major environmental problem in the 1960’s, mainly as a result of transporting more than 500,000 metric tons of oil. (Britannica, 2015)
“It
doesn’t look like it’s going to be catastrophic. But that doesn’t mean there’s not going to be a damage,” said Pete Raimond of the University of California Santa Cruz (The Guardian, 2015) Corncobs have been used as oil absorbent after the wreckage of a ship, releasing 220,000 tons of heavy crude oil
in
Recovery
1978. I
Adria
Inc.,
Brown,
has
founder
developed
a
of
Brown’s
product
cold
Company, “Golden
Retriever” that is experimented to absorb oil from water. (Siegel, 2010) The development of the study is stated to be economical for its use of dried corncobs that have gone through a process for agricultural uses and is very useful for
cleanups
since
it
is
buoyant
and
while
adsorption
occurs, it remain afloat. (Harrison, 2010) Adria Brown said she has about 34,000 tons of properly dried material to help the system of waste management (Czarnik, 2010) and the oil soaked corn cobs could either be burned for fuel or the oil from the corn cob is separated from the corn cob for future use. (Walker, 2010) In a study where the absorbents being experimented are coconut husks and corncobs, aims to compare the absorption capability of coconut husk, grounded and ungrounded corn cob and also to discover which of the absorbents is more capable and effective at removing oil from the water. The outcome indicated that the surface area is a factor in absorption. (Omoniyi et al., 2012) The difference of both the studies is that the independent variable of the study is grounded and ungrounded corn cob while the researcher’s variable to be used are corncobs on their natural state. An experiment was performed with crude oil and its fraction only and a mixture of crude oil and its fraction on
water. The result of the study reveals that the synthetic absorbent mat absorbed oil more than the corn cob and it did not absorb water while absorbing the oil while the corn cob did. (Kelli et al., 2013) According to Fox News, in the latest oil spill, workers shoveled tar balls that were carried away for disposal. They had to be careful not to disturb populations of Westering Snowy Plovers that were in the middle of their breeding season. (Associated Press, 2015) The abundant production of aquatic organisms in aquaculture depends on its environment but those organisms live in water and the environmental problem
is
water
quality
(Boyd
&
Tucker,
2012)
and
groundwater quality (Nwachukwu & Osuagwu, 2014) An
article
entitled
A
Novel
Sustainable
Oil
Spill
Control Technology revise oil spill control techniques, its components
and
disadvantages.
chemicals, (Al-majed
et
and
their
advantages
al.,
2012)
The
study
and also
suggests natural sorbents which may also be an indicator of the level of air pollution (Sandu et al., 2012) and on soil. (González et al., 2010) The spill of crude oil affect the factors: nutrients, soil type, humidity, temperature, pH, the
type
and
the
metabolism
of
the
microorganisms,
(Pecingină & Cîrţînă, 2013) chemical properties and plant composition. (Tanee & Albert, 2015) Similarly, a study in the Philippines about a massive oil spill at the Guimaras Strait Philippines studies the effect of the oil spill on the lifestyle of the fishermen in the
coasts
(Aliren,
2013)
and
marine
sanctuaries
and
mangrove expanses. (AGODRAOSC, 2013) The coastal villages were told to put oil spill booms made from bamboo poles and other sorbents. (Burgos Jr., 2014) Similarly, this study provides
basic
information
about
the
effects
of
an
oil
spill. A report entitled Oil Spill in Entancia by the Joint United
Nations
humanitarian
Environment
response
network
Programme
(UNEP)
coordinated
by
and the
the
United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), most of the spilled oil was washed at the shores of the Estancia during the height of typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), the
containment
booms
deployed
are
not
sufficient
to
effectively contain all of the free phase oil in the water. (UN et al., 2013)
Chapter 2 Methodology
Sampling In this study, the researcher gathered adsorbent entire corncobs, crude oil and simulated saltwater. The researcher gathered adsorbent entire corn cobs in their natural state without the need of an expensive process or costly process to turn the corn cobs in granular form. The researcher gathered ten (10) dry corn cobs. The corn cobs used is the sweet kind (Zea Saccharata or Zea Rugosa). The researcher visited a farmland where freshly-harvested sweet corn is produced
and
as
gathered,
it
is
placed
on
a
basin
and
labeled. The oil gathered is used oil or crude oil where the researcher visited a gasoline station to get 2 liters of crude oil or used oil and then placed in a closed container. The water used is salt water. The researcher will made a salt water simulation. Since water at standard conditions weighs 1000 grams/liter then we can say that sea water has
35g of salt per liter. (OPENROV, 2014) 5 liters of water was used in each 3 containers so, each container with 5 liters of water are mixed with 75 grams of salt. Treatment Proper The corncobs were labeled as corncob A, B, C ... J. The researcher
weighed
the
corncobs
on
a
weighing
scale
to
determine their current weight before the experiment will be done. After weighing and recording the corncobs’ current weight, the corncobs were dropped 2 feet above from the container. The basins were also labeled as container A, B, and C. Three corncobs were dropped on each basin 2 feet above
and
observed
for
1-
3
hours.
While
observing,
recording was currently done. After recording observations, corncobs A, B, and C were retrieved by using plastic gloves.
Data Gathering Corncobs A, B, and C were carefully weighed on the weighing scale. The researcher recorded the number of grams of
each
corn
cob
after
they
were
retrieved
from
the
containers. The weight of the oil-absorbed corncobs’ were compared to their weight before the experiment was done. The
researcher did experiment three times for the researcher to know that the experiment wasn’t done by chance.
Data Analysis The researcher then compared and contrasted the outcome of the controlled and experimental group by using the table below:
Trials
Weight of corn cobs before experiment
Weight of corn cobs after the experiment
Weight of coconut husk fibers before experiment
Weight of coconut husk fibers after experiment
1
W grams
X grams
Y grams
Z grams
2
W grams
X grams
Y grams
Z grams
3
W grams
X grams
Y grams
Z grams
Table 1.0 The weight of each group before and after the experiment began The researcher used T-test on the significance of the difference between two correlated means. The null hypothesis was: There is no significant difference on the potential of corncobs as an oil adsorbent. The alternative hypothesis was: There is a significant difference in the potential of the corncobs as an oil adsorbent. The significant level or
the alpha level used is 5%, the degree of freedom used will be N – 1 which is 2 and the test used was one-tailed. In solving the test, first done was to compute the mean of group 1 (X1) and group 2 (X2):
x 1=
∑ X 1 147.91 = =49.30 N1 3
x 2=
∑ X 2 214.36 = =71.45 N2 3 ΣX1 and ΣX2 are the summation of the data in each group
while N symbolizes the number of trials and
x
is the
mean. The summation of the group 1 was divided by the number of trials which was also done for group 2. Next was to compute the standard error (S) of the difference between means:
S
x 1−x 2=
√[
[
∑ x1 − 2
][
( ∑ X 1 )2 ( ∑ X 2 )2 + ∑ x2 − N1 N2 N 1 + N 2−2 2
]
][
1 1 + N1 N2
]
Then compute for the t or the calculated value:
t =
( x1− x2 ) −( μ1−μ2 ) S x 1−x 2
The tabulated value the researcher used to compare the computed value is 2.776. If the computed value is greater than
the
tabulated
value
then
accept
the
alternative
hypothesis and reject the null hypothesis. If the tabulated value is greater than the computed value, accept the null hypothesis and reject the alternative hypothesis. Whatever the answer computed may be, it will be written as the final answer.
Disposal The researcher used a separating funnel to separate the oil from the water that has been used.
The oil that has
been separated from the water was used as an extra oil or oil for the car or any machinery at home. The water that has been
separated
was
poured
over
the
plants
in
the
researcher’s home. The experimented corncobs and coir are burned for fuel or separated for future use.
Bibliography
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APPENDICES Appendix A
Statistical Tool T - test H0
:
There
is
no
significant
difference
between
the
adsorption of oil by corn cobs and coconut husk fibers H1
:
There
is
a
significant
difference
between
adsorption of oil by corn cobs and coconut husk fibers Level of significance: α = 0.05 X1
X12
X2
X22
50
2,500
73.21
5,359.70
47.91
2,295.37
70
4,900
50
2,500
71.15
5,062.32
the
∑X12 = 7,295.37
∑X1 = 147.91
∑X22 = 15,322.2
∑X2 = 214.36
Table 2.3: a. Computing the mean of group 1 (X1)and group 2 (X2)
x 1=
∑ X 1 147.91 = =49.30 N1 3
x 2=
∑ X 2 214.36 = =71.45 N2 3
b. Computing the standard error of the difference between means S
x 1−x 2=
√[
[
∑ x1 − 2
][
( ∑ X 1 )2 ( ∑ X 2 )2 + ∑ x2 − N1 N2 N 1 + N 2−2 2
¿
√[
¿
[√ [
7,295.37−7,292.45 ] + [ 15,322.2−15,316.73 ] 2 4 3
¿
[√ [
2.92 ] + [ 5.47 ] 2 4 3
[
7,295.37−
][
21,877.36 45,950.20 + 15,322.2− 3 3 3+3−2
]
][
][ ]
][ ]
]
1 1 + 3 3
][
]
1 1 + N1 N2
]
¿
√[ ][ ] 8.39 4
¿ √ 2.09
¿
2 3
[] 2 3
√[ ][ ] 2.09 1
2 3
¿ √1.39 ¿ 1.180
C. Computing for t
t =
( x1− x2 ) −( μ1−μ2 ) S x 1−x 2
¿
( 49.30−71.45 ) −0 1.180
¿
22.15 1.180
¿ 18.77
Finding the critical value or the tabular value of t. df = 4
α = 0.05
ttab = 2.776 Since the tcalc is greater than the ttab, reject the null hypothesis and accept the alternative hypothesis. H1
:
There
is
a
significant
difference
between
the
adsorption of oil by corn cobs and coconut husk fibers
Raw Result
Trials
Weight of corn cobs before experiment
Weight of corn cobs after the experiment
Weight of coconut husk fibers before experiment
Weight of coconut husk fibers after experiment
1
125
250
75
280
2
125
240
75
250
3
125
250
75
260
Table 2.3 : The weight of each group before and after the experiment began in grams.
Appendix B
