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**Attempts To Clean The BP Oil Spill **

November 29, 2010. Ever since the fateful day of the BP Oil Spill, BP and other cohesive operations have attempted to cleanse the Gulf of Mexico of any remaining oil and save any organisms, such as animals, plants, etc., from utter destruction. xxxxxx One invention created that was used to aid in the expulsion of oil from the Gulf was the Oil Booms. Oil Booms are used to absorb only the oil, not the water. The Oil Booms have three characteristics that make it work: they are oleophilic, hydrophobic, and reusable. Being oleophilic, the Booms have strong affinity for oils, rather than water. Being hydrophobic, it tends to repel the water when the oil is being soaked into it. Lastly, being reusable, it can be used repeatedly. These booms can absorb up to 154.2 gallons of oil. The outer skin of the Boom is made of polypropylene and the absorbing material is made of polypropylene fiber. Each Boom is 60 pounds. They usually take on the characteristics of the liquids they absorb, so you have to be careful when you use them. xxxxx  Another clean up method used was the use of microbes. Microbes exist naturally in nature and don’t naturally digest oil, but will digest it if it contaminates the environment. Microbes raised and bred on Texas crude oil have given them the affinity for digesting crude oil. The microbes are then put in a 55 gallon drum of seawater, and then spread out in the open water. xxxx Between the beginning of the spill and the time it was finally cleaned up, six other things were tried to prevent the oil from spreading too much. On April 5, 2010, BP put a funnel shaped structure in the water in the gulf of Louisiana. On May 7, 2010, a 100 ton containment box was put over the well pipe. This failed because ice crystals clogged the opening of the box. On May 26, 2010, BP attempted to pump heavy mud and cement into the pipelines, and if it didn’t work, Obama would take over the spill efforts. On June 2, 2010, a containment dome was put to lead the oil to the surface. Finally on July 3, 2010, a “whale” was used to separate the oil from the water. xxxxx On May 24, 2010, a nuclear explosion was considered to get rid of the oil. Scientists said the heat would melt surrounding rock, closing the shaft of the pipeline. The Soviet Union was successful four times with this method. Could that have worked for the gulf of Louisiana and BP oil spill?

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