FERROFLUID!!

Problem:
How effective is ferrofluid (manufactured and homemade) under a strict time constraint?

Hypothesis:
If we separate oil from water using homemade/manufactured ferrofluid then under a time constraint of 20 minutes, ferrofluid will not be effective in separating oil from water.
Variables: Independent-Homemade Ferrofluid Dependent Variable-amount of oil separated from water
Control Variable: Time given to separate oil and water (20 minutes)

Materials

• MICR Toner, Mineral Oil, tap water, timer
• Neodymium Magnet (Earth Magnet) (optional)
• Vegetable Oil, food coloring
• 1 bottle of 1 oz. Ferrofluid, 2 small plastic bags
• 8 petri dishes, graduated cylinder, safety goggles, lab apron

Procedure:
1) Put on safety goggles, wear gloves, tie hair back (if long hair), wear lab apron
2) Place newspaper across lab area.
3) Place 8 petri dishes on newspaper, separating into 2 groups of 4.
4) Fill each petri dish with 15 mL of water.
5) Drop food coloring on the water (Any color).
6) Measure out 10 mL of Mineral oil in graduated cylinder, then pour gently into petri dish.
7) Take MICR toner, pour very carefully into small plastic bag, and then pour vegetable oil. MICR Toner and Vegetable oil should be in a ratio of 2:1 respectively (Toner has the magnetic properties.) Close bag and mix by squeezing bottom of bag for a minute and shaking gently up and down.
8) Pour the homemade ferrofluid gently into the first four petri dishes (about 5mL each)
9) Take bottle of ferrofluid and OPEN WITH CAUTION, then pour 5mL into the other 4 petri dishes.
10) Leave for 20 minutes!
11) Optional, if you want to see the reaction of ferrofluid to an earth magnet, take your neodymium magnet and place in small plastic bag, then put under the ferrofluid and wave around. Ferrofluid should move with magnet, and if the magnet is strong enough, the ferrofluid should spike up.

Experiment Data:
Homemade Ferrofluid
Trial 1: 5 mL
Trial 2: 0 mL
Trial 3: 0 mL
Trial 4: 0 mL
Manufactured Ferrofluid
Trial 1: 8 mL
Trial 2: 0 mL
Trial 3: 0 mL
Trial 4: 0 mL ... :(

Chart of Data

Pie Chart (Percentages)

Results: Abstract
The purpose of this experiment was to see if ferrofluid could effectively (defined as consistently able to separate more than half) of the oil mixed with the water. We made ferrofluid, took manufactured ferrofluid, put them in 8 petri dishes, with colored water and mineral oil and left the ferrofluid on water for 20 minutes. Homemade ferrofluid separated 5 mL, and the rest were 0. The manufactured started out with separating 8 mL and then the rest were also 0!:D The temperature was kept constant (23.33 degrees Celsius), and the experiment was done in an inside environment. We found that, though percentage wise, manufactured ferrofluid did better, there is no conclusive evidence that ferrofluid does work effectively on a time constraint of 20 minutes. This experiment was looking into possible time effective solutions to oil spills, but the results show that such a time constraint is highly unlikely to produce quality results nor aid in the actual removal of oil.

Conclusion:
We found out that homemade and manufactured ferrofluid are both ineffective under a strict time constraint (of 20 minutes in this case).