Is it possible to separate oil from water, and how to do it
What situations do not happen in life: for example, vegetable oil is mixed with water, or liquid has got into the motor. Separating the oil from the water with your own hands is easy and simple: remember the school chemistry course, stock up on filters, tubes and absorbent agents.
The essence of the mixture
These two liquids do not mix with each other. From the school chemistry course, many will recall that combining water with fats is called an emulsion. For the diffusion of substances, additives are always required - they are called emulsifiers.
When mixed with water, the oil layer is on top, since it is a lighter substance. Water, due to its higher density, sinks. Separating two products is not difficult.
How to split
Sunflower oil is collected at the top of the tank. If you act carefully, most of the product can be drained or scooped out without special tools. Run the remaining emulsion through the filter. The output will be clear water without an oily film.
The method with a freezer plays on the difference in the pour point of the products:
- Place the container with the mixture in the freezer.
- Water begins to convert to ice at zero. The pour point of vegetable oil is lower than that of water.
- After a while, pieces of ice will float in the liquid oil. They are very easy to remove.
Drain with a rubber tube:
- Fix the tube on the dishes with water and oil, lower the end to the very bottom.
- Prepare a container for water, an intermediate mixture and oil, it should be half as low.
- Draw air from the tube and lower its other end into a clean container.
- Water distillation will begin immediately.
- When an intermediate substance comes out and oil spills, transfer the tube to an appropriate container.
If you need to remove oil from water, use an absorbent. At home - a tablet of activated carbon. Calculate the amount of agent according to the formula: 3 parts to 1 part of oil. How to act:
- Immerse the absorbent in the mixture.
- Close the container and shake vigorously.
- Pour the mixture a couple of times into a new dish, as an oily layer remains on the walls.
Advice from purity.bigbadmole.com/en/
If the vegetable oil looks liquid and watery, but does not fry during the cooking process, but extinguishes it, most likely it was diluted not with water, but with another low-quality vegetable product. The water in the product is visible immediately.
How to be with engine oil
Disposing of used oil is not always wise, because you can convert it into cheap fuel for an oil furnace, impregnation for wooden surfaces, or grease for various equipment.
How to clean engine oil, all options:
- Allow the mixture to settle, and then drain the top layer.
- Stir thoroughly or use a centrifuge, then drain or suck the top oily layer.
- Pass the emulsion through the filter: gauze, newspaper, etc.
- You can also use a demulsifier.
Everything in the household is useful, so do not rush to get rid of oil spoiled by water.