A DETERMINATION OF THE OPTIMAL SPEED OF A NOVEL OLEOPHILIC OIL SKIMMER

Almost every year a disastrous oil spill occurs detrimentally affecting both the environment and consumers who purchase oil for many years, even decades afterward. So far, the estimated recovery rate of the oil is only 10-15%. A promising solution is aerogel, a substance that can absorb up to ten times its weight in oil but alone it may not be effective. Using Autodesk Inventor, I have designed and built my own oleophilic oil skimmer that will use aerogel to recover spilled oil from the ocean. This oil skimmer will allow us to determine the optimal revolutions per minute for an oil skimmer and it will be more effective than some skimmers on the market today. Varying speed and oleophilic material, I was able to accomplish and prove my hypotheses. My skimmer has been proven through statistical analysis to be a feasible, cost-effective, and convenient way to extract oil from oil spills.