CassidyTitchenell

November29,2015
SludgeReport
Chemistry

SludgeLabReport

ExecutiveSummary

Aftercloseexaminationofthesludgeproducedbytheewastecompany,itisconfirmedthattheewaste
recyclingplantshouldbeallowedtosetupinPawtucket.Thesixcomponentsfoundwithinthesludgewere
water,castoroil,zinc,sand,iron,andsodiumbicarbonate(bakingsoda).AccordingtoaMaterialSafetyData
SheetpublishedbytheScienceLab,outofallsixcomponents,themostdangerouselementtohuman,plant,and
animallifeisiron.With0beingharmlessand3beingthemostdangerous,ironhasahealthrisk,afirerisk,
andareactivityrisk.Despitethehighflammabilityrateofiron,theewastecompanyshouldstillsetupin
Pawtucketassmallamountsofironwillbeplacedinalargeamountofwater,andsincewaterhasa0%
flammabilityrisk,itisnotverylikelythattheironwillbeabletocatchfire.Addingon,theironinthesludge
sunktothebottomoftheflaskandmixedwiththesand.Sincesandhasa0%flammabilityriskaswell,itis
highlyunlikelythattheirondumpedintotheriverandmixedwithsandwillbeabletoignitewhenexposedtoa
flame.Thesludgeoverallisnotveryharmfulortoxictotheriverorthecommunitybecausecomponents,such
aswaterandsand,arealreadyfoundwithintheBlackstoneRiverandarenontoxic.Sincethewaterandthesand
inthesludgearenontoxic,theycanberecycledintotheriverandusedtonaturallydissolvethebakingsoda.
However,sincecastoroilisnonpolarandwillnotdissolveintheriverspolarwater,therewillbealayerofoil
sittingontopofthewater.Yet,thiswillnothaveahugeimpactontheriversincetheoilonlyhasa
flammabilityriskandtherewasnotmuchoilinthesludgetobeginwith.Thezincinthesludgehastheability
toberecycled,ratherthandumpedintheriver.Ifthezincisrecycled,itcanbemelteddownandpurifiedto
reuse.Ifthezincisnotrecycled,itwillsimplysinktothebottomoftheriver,whereitisnotlikelythatitwill
affectanything.Overall,thesludgeisnottoxicandhascomponentsthatcanberecycled,meaningthatthe
ewastecompanycansetupinPawtucket.

Methods

Toidentifyeachcomponentofthesludge,webeganbyobservingit.Wedrewdiagramsandtooknote
ofthedifferentcharacteristicofthesludge.Forexample,wenotedthatthereweretwolayersofliquidanda
layerofsandonthebottom.Afterobservingthesludge,aflowchartwasmade,alongwithproceduresthatwe
followedtoensurethatourlabwasexecutedcorrectly.

Afterobservingthesludge,webegandissectingitbyseparatingthedifferentcomponentsindifferent
containersasbestaswecould.Tobegin,weseparatedanoilysubstancefromthesurfaceofthesludgeusinga
pipette.Theoilwasplacedfromtheinitialflaskintoadifferentflaskusingthepipette.Duetothehighboiling
pointofoils,weknewthatitwouldhavebeentoochallengingtoattempttodistillit,sowedecidedtopipette
theoilfromthesludgetomakeiteasier,aswellascleanerduringotherprocedures.Oncetheoilwasenclosed

inaflaskofitsown,wesetitasidewithalabelonitsowecouldlatergobacktoit.Next,weseparatedthe
metalsandsandfromthewater.Toseparatethepiecesofmetalandsandfromthesludge,acoffeefilterwitha
funnelwasplacedinsideofabeaker.Thesludgewasthenslowlypouredintothecoffeefiltertoseparatethe
metalsandsandfromtheliquidsolution.Thenwetookthemetalsoutofthesandandplacedthemaside.Once
themetalswereseparatedfromthesandandsolution,themetalswererinsedoffusingwatertocleananysand
orresidueleftonthemfromthesludge.Oncealloftheobviouscomponentsofthesludgewereseparated,we
beganusingourskillsetandthetoolswehadtoidentifythecomponents.

Thefirstcomponentidentifiedinthesludgewaswater.Thewaterinoursludgewasthelargest
componentandhadaclear,odorlesscharacteristic.Inordertoidentifyit,weperformedadistillationlabusinga
distillationbulb.Priortopouringtheliquidintothedistillationlab,wewereinstructedtocleantheliquidsince
therewerestillsandparticlesinit.Tocleantheliquid,weplacedacoffeefilterinsideofafunnelthatwasthen
placedintoanotherbeaker.Slowly,wepouredtheliquidintothefunnel,carefullyadjustingthecoffeefilteras
wewaitedfortheliquidtoseepthrough.Aftercompletingthisprocessforthefirsttime,theliquidstill
containedparticlesofsandinit,sowedecidedtoredotheprocessagainfollowingthesameprocedure.Once
thesecondprocesswascomplete,theliquidwasplacedintothebulbandtheethanolburnerwaslit.Asthe
liquiddistilled,agroupmemberkepttrackofthetime,makingsurethatanothergroupmemberrecordedthe
temperatureoftheliquidevery1minute.Sincetherewaslotsofliquidinthebulb,thedistillationprocesslasted
threedays.Onthesecondandthirdday,theprocesswasrestartedandrepeated.Towardstheendofthelab,the
liquidbeganpoppingandwewereinstructedtoturntheethanolburneroffastonotburnthesubstance.Usinga
graphingsoftwareonanAppleiPad,wegraphedthetemperaturesoftheliquidforeachminutetoobserveany
slopesorcurvesinthedata.Itwasobservedthatthetemperatureoftheliquiddidnotstopatasteadypaceuntil
itreachedthehigh90sandlow100s.UsingthisdataandthedataontheSludgeTestsReferenceSheet,we
wereabletocomparetheboilingpointoftheliquidandidentifyitaswater.

Whiletheliquidwasbeingdistilled,athirdgroupmemberfoundthemassofthemetalstoconserve
time.Tofindthedensityofthemetals,webeganbyfindingthemass,measuredingrams(g)ofit.Themetals
wereplacedonatriplebeambalanceandmeasuredthreetimes.Thenthemassofthemetalsthroughoutthe
threetrialswasaddedupanddividedbythree.Theaveragemassofthemetalswere11.167g.Oncethemassof
themetalswasidentified,wefoundthevolumeofthemetals.Tofindthevolumeofthemetals,inmilliliters
(mL),all7piecesofthemetalwereplacedinagraduatedcylinderfilledwithwater.Priortoplacingthemetals
inthewater,thewaterlevelwasrecordedsothatwecouldobservethewatersdisplacement.Coveringthetop
ofthegraduatedcylinderwithourhand,wegentlybangedthegraduatedcylinderonthetableuntiltherewere
noairbubblesthatcouldskewourdata.Thenwesubtractedthewatersinitialvolumefromthevolumeofthe
waterwiththemetalsinittoidentifythevolumeofthemetalsalone.Again,weaddedthevolumeofthemetals
foreachtrialanddivideditbythreetoreceivetheaveragevolume,whichwas1.1mL.Usingtheaveragemass
dividedbytheaveragevolumeofthemetals,thedensitywasidentifiedas10.1g/mL.Duetoconfusioninour
group,wefoundthedensityofthemetalsthreetimes,receivingdifferentdataforeachone.Intheend,we
decidedthatourlasttimefindingthedensitywasmostaccuratesinceourfullattentionwasfocusedon
completingitprecisely.Also,weputamagnetoverthemetalstoseeiftheyweremagnetic,aswellasplacing
themetalsinwaterforacoupleofdaystoseeiftheywouldrust.

Thenextcomponentthatweidentifiedinoursludgewascastoroil.Webeganbyfindingthedensityof
thepaleyellowoilinoursludge.However,shortlyafteridentifyingthemassoftheoil,wediscoveredthatwe
couldnotfindthevolumeofitsincetherewaslessthanagramofoilavailabletous.Tofindthemassofthe
oil,wemeasuredthemassofasmallgraduatedcylinderonatriplebeambalance.Oncethemassofthetriple
beambalancewasrecorded,theoilwaspouredintothegraduatedcylinderusingasmallfunnel.Then,themass
ofthegraduatedcylinderwiththeoilwasrecorded.Wethensubtractedthemassofthegraduatedcylinderfrom
themassofthegraduatedcylinderandtheoiltoidentifythemassoftheoil,whichis0.7grams.Sincethere
wasnotenoughoiltofindthevolumeoftheoil,wewereinstructedtoresearchdifferentoilslistedonthe
SludgeTestReferenceSheetandidentifyitusingtheinformationwefound.

Toidentifythefourthcomponentofthesludge,sand,webeganbywavingamagnetoveritwiththe
chancethattheremaybeotherparticlesmixedwiththesand.Tooursurprise,therewas.Whenamagnetwas
wavedoverthesand,whichwasinapetridish,manysmallbrownparticlesclungtothemagnet.Wethen
separatedthemetalsthatclungtothemagnetintoadifferentpetridish.Oncethenewfoundmetalwas
separatedfromthesand,wefoundthedensityofit.Webeganfindingthedensitybyfindingthemass,ingrams
(g),ofthesand.Tofindthemassofthesand,wefoundthemassofbeakerfirstandrecordeditinourdata
tables.Nextweaddedthesandintothebeakerusingafunnelandfoundthemassofthebeakerwiththesand.
Wethensubtractedthemassofthebeakerwiththesandfromthemassofthebeakeralonetofindthemassof
thesand.Themassofthesandforthethreetrialswere14g.,13g.,and14g.Theaverageofthemassofthethree
trialswas13.96g.Next,wefoundthevolumeofthesand.Tofindthevolumeofthesandwefilledamedium
graduatedcylinderwithwaterandrecordedthevolumeofthewater.Then,weaddedthesandinandfoundthe
volumeofthesandinthewater.After,wesubtractedthevolumeofthesandandthebeakerfromthevolumeof
thesandtogetthevolumeofthesandalone.Sincewelostthedataofthevolumeofthesand,wehadtoredo
thevolumelabagainthenextday.However,sinceoursandwaswetfromthepreviousday,weputthesandand
waterinabeakeronahotplatetoburnoffallofthewater.Onceallofthewaterwasgone,werepeatedthe
previousstepstofindthevolumeofthesand.Withthisinformation,wethendividedtheaveragemassofthe
sandbytheaveragevolumeofthesandtogetadensityof5.584g/mL.

Whilewewaitedforthesandtotryout,wedecidedtoidentifythefifthcomponent,iron.After
separatingtheironfromthesand,wewereabletofindthedensityofit.First,wefoundthemassofthe
graduatedcylinderthenthemassofthegraduatedcylinderandthemetals.After,wesubtractedthemassofthe
graduatedcylinderfromthemassofthegraduatedcylinderwiththemetals.Wefoundthemassthreetimesand
thenaverageditouttogetanaveragemassof11.167g.Next,wefoundthevolumeofthesubstanceby
recordingthevolumeofthewaterinasmallgraduatedcylinderandaddingthemetalinusingafunnel.After
completingthisprocessthreetimes,wesubtractedthevolumeofthewaterandmetalsfromthevolumeofthe
graduatedcylinder.Then,weaveragedoutthethreetrials.Bydividingtheaveragemassbytheaveragevolume,
wewereabletofindthedensityofthemetal,whichis5.084g/mL.

Toidentifythelastcomponentofthesludge,wehadtoseparateapowderfromthemetals.Afterplacing
themetalsinwater,weobservedthatapowderappearedonthebottomofthebeaker,alongwithinthewater.
Oncewenoticedthis,wetookthemetalsoutofthewaterandplacedthebeakerwiththeremainingwaterand
powderonahotplate.Afterthemajorityofthewaterevaporated,wetookthebeakerwiththeremainingwater
andpowderandplaceditnearawindowsillovernighttocompletelydryout.Thefollowingday,wetookthe

beakercontainingthepowderandrecordedthemassofabeaker.Then,wefoundthemassofthebeakerandthe
powderandsubtractedthemassofthebeakerfromthemassofthepowderandthebeaker.Next,wemeasured
100mLofwaterinalargegraduatedcylinderandcollectedapipette,mixer,andthebeakercontainingthe
water.Weslowlypipettedwaterintothebeakerthathadthepowderwhilemixingittofindthesaturationpoint.
Oncethepowderwascompletelydissolved,weremeasuredthevolumeofthewater.Thenwesubtractedthe
initialvolumeofthewaterfromthevolumeoftheremainingwater.Tocompletethesaturationlab,wecross
multipliedthemassofthesoluteto100mLofthesolventandtheamountofsolventinwhichthepowder
dissolvedintox.

Table

Component
Density
Solubility
Polarity
Color
Magnetic?
Water
1.00g/mL
N/A
Polar
Colorless
No
CasterOil
0.96g/mL
Notsolublein
NonPolar
Paleyellow
No
water
3
Zinc
7.14g/cm

Notsoluble
NonPolar
Blueishgrey
Weakly
magnetic
3
Sand
1.33g/cm

Notsolublein
NonPolar
Amber,Grey
No
water
3
Iron
7.87g/cm

Notsolublein
NonPolar
BlacktoGrey
Yes
coldwater
3
Sodium
2.2g/cm

9g/100mLof Polar
White
No
Bicarbonate
water
(BakingSoda)

Findings

Onecomponentfoundwithinthesludgefromtheewastefactoryiswater.Thesludgecontainedaclear,
unscentedliquidsubstancemixedwithmetalsandothersolutes.Thesubstancefilledthemajorityoftheflask
andwasmixedwiththeothercomponentsinthesludge.Thewaterinthesludgeisbelievedtobetheprimary
solvent,asitisthemaincomponent.Afterseparatingthesolidsandathickliquidfromthesludge,students
wereleftwiththeremainingunknownliquidtheysoonidentifiedaswater.Toidentifythiscomponentand
separateitfromanyothercomponents,adistillationlabwasperformedthroughoutthreedays.Aftercompleting
thedistillationlab,theliquidwasfoundtohaveanaverageboilingpointof99.7.Theboilingpointofthe
unknownsubstancewasthencomparedtotheboilingpointofalistofknownliquids.Theunknownliquid
foundinthesludgecanbeidentifiedaswaterasithasaboilingpointonly0.3differentfromwater,which
hasaboilingpointof100.Theboilingpointandclear,unscentedsubstanceconfirmthataliquidinthe
sludgeiswater.

Apossiblecomponentfoundwithinthesludgeiscastoroil.Whileobservingthesludge,itwasnoted
thattherewasasmalllayerofyellowtintedliquidsittingontopoftheothercomponents.Inordernotto
loosetheliquidduringotherprocesses,suchasdistillation,theoilwastakenoutoftheflaskusingapipette
andplacedintoaflaskofitsown.Afterplacingtheoilinasmallgraduatedcylinder,itwasfoundthatthe
densityofthethickliquidmuststayunknownasthereislessthanagramofoil.Duetothelimitedamountof
oilfoundinthesludge,studentswereunabletofindthedensity.However,differentpropertiesofdifferentoils
wereresearchedandcomparedtothepropertiesoftheoilinthesludge.Themysteryliquidwasinitially
identifiedasanoilduetoitsthicktexture.Plus,sinceitwassittingabovethewaterinthesludgeonDay1,
studentswereabletoconcludethattheliquidwasanoilsincetheoilspresentedtothemontheSludge
ReferenceSheetwerelessdensethanwater.Theliquidwasalsoidentifiedascastoroilbecauseitisalight
yellowcolorthatisclearer,justlikecastoroil,thanthatofotheroils.Addingon,theoilisnonpolar,similarto
castoroil,becauseitdidnotdissolveinwater.Duetotherenotbeingscientificevidencethatcanbackupthe
conclusionthattheoilisinfactcastoroil,studentsatBACSarenotverypositivethattheoiliscastoroil.By
usingtheSludgeTestReferenceSheetandinformationcollectedfromtheInternet,studentsareableto
concludethattheoilinthesludgehasapossibilityofbeingcastoroilduetothethicknessandcoloroftheoil.

ScientistsatBlackstoneAcademyCharterSchoolwereabletoidentifyunknownmetalsinthesludgeas
zinc.Whileobservingthesludge,BACSstudentsnoticedagraymetalsittingonthebottomoftheflask.The
studentsdecideditbesttobegintheirsludgelabbyseparatingandidentifyingthemetal.Scientistsidentifiedthe
metalsbyfindingthedensityofit.UsingtheSludgeTestsReferenceSheet,themetalcanbeidentifiedaszinc
asithasadensityof10.1g/mLandzinchasadensityof7.14g/mL.Themetalsarealsozincbecausetheyare
weaklymagnetic,whichisapropertyofzinc.Finally,thesubstancehadasilver/graycolorappearancetoit,
validatingthatitiszinc.Intheend,usingthepresentinformation,thegraymetalinthesludgeiszinc.

Anothercomponentinthesludgefromtheewastefactoryissand.Thesludgecontainedasandylike
substancesittingonthebottomoftheflaskthathadadensityof5.584g/mL.Thesubstancewasa
brownishorangecolorandcontainedminiaturegray,brown,white,andblackrocksinit.Additionally,the
substancelookedlikedsandasitsharedthesamegrainytextureassand.Addingon,whenthesubstancewas
wet,itclumpedtogetherlikemudanddarkenedincolor.Whenthesubstancedried,itdriedinsmallclumps.
Thisfurthersupportstheconclusionthatthesubstanceissandbecausesandturnstomudwhenwetandclumps
togetherduringthedryingprocess.Thedensity,texture,color,andmudpropertyoftheunknownsubstance
confirmsthatthereissandpresentinthesludge.

Acomponentinthesludgeisiron.Thesludgecontainedasandylikesubstancelayingonthebottomof
theflask.Afterdryingandseparatingthissand,outofcuriosity,amagnetwastakentothesand.Whenthe
magneticwaswavedoverthesand,small,brownpartsofthesandbeganseparatingfromtherest.The
substancesmagnetismisabletosupportthatitisironsinceironismagneticaswell.Addingon,thecolorof
thecomponentresemblesthatofthecolorofironconcludingthatthesubstanceisiron.Sincethesubstancehad
theabilitytodissolvewhenmixedwithwarmwaterisabitsusceptiblesinceironcannotdissolveinwater,
however,thedissolvedpowdermayhavebeenasoluteinthesludge.Despitethefactthatthedensityofthe
substanceis5.084g/mLandthedensityofironis7.87g/mL,themagnetism,color,andslightsolubility
confirmthatironispresentinthesludge.

Thelastcomponentfoundinthesludgewassodiumbicarbonate(bakingsoda),anoffwhitepowder
withasaturationpointofabout6g/100mL.Thesludgecontainedasmallamountofpowdermoleculesthatwas
discoveredafterleavingthezincsoakinginwaterforacoupleofdays.Afterafewdays,awhitepowderwas
foundonthebottomofthebeakerofthebeakercontainingthewaterwiththemetalsinit.ScientistsatBACS
hadtoevaporatethewaterfromthepowderbecausethepowderwasasoluteinthewater.Addingon,the
substanceissolubleinwaterandispolar,furthersupportingthatthepowderisbakingbecausebakingsodais
solubleandpolar.Finallythesubstancecanbeidentifiedasbakingsodaduetoitswhiteappearance,which
matchesthecolorofbakingsoda.Thesaturationpoint,color,solubility,polarity,andcoloroftheunknown
substanceconfirmthatbakingsodaisoneofthecomponentsofthesludge.

Rubric

SludgeAnalysis(LabWork)
Total
Componentof
Identified?(5pointseach)

Sludge

/35

WrittenReport
Total
ExecutiveSummary

Claim(5points)
Evidence(5points)
Reasoning(5points)

/15
Methods
(ClearlyDescribed)
/5
Table
(Showscharacteristicchemicalandphysicalproperties)
/5
Findings
(CERParagraphs)

Identified
Claim(2points)
Qualitative
Quantitative
Reasoning(2

Component
Evidence?(2
Evidence?(2
points)
points)
points)
Water

CastorOil

Zinc

Sand

Iron

BakingSoda

WrittenReportTotal

/48
/73