How will you Separate Oil and Water From their Mixture

How will you separate oil and water from their mixture?

Oil and water are two immiscible liquids that do not mix with each other in any given condition. This phenomenon occurs because of the chemical composition of water which is composed of 2 hydrogen atoms and a single oxygen atom. Due to this chemical composition, the water is considered to be polar in nature. Because of this polarity, the water had a great bond with salt, sugar, etc., which are easily dissolved in water. However, oil is a non-polar chemical compound due to which they do not attract the water molecules and are not mixed in any given condition. Therefore, if oil and water are kept in a container, in such a condition due to having a lesser density, the oil will float on top of the surface of the water, creating a layer. However, there are several methods to separate the mixture of oil and water. Some of them are:

1. Freezing: Freezing is considered to be one of the easiest and simplest methods of separating the mixture of oil and water. Water turns into ice easily at a lower temperature in comparison to oil. However, considering this at a large scale, freezing is not an adaptive option.
2. Absorbance: Absorbance is also considered to be one of the simplest methods of separating the mixture of oil and water. In this method, a chemical compound like polypropylene is used to soak up all of the oil from the mixture. 
3. Bioremediation: This method uses microorganisms, most specifically Pseudomonas, to consume the oil in the mixture. It is in its emerging stage and being practiced on a greater level. Basically, this method is used to clear out the oil spill that is taking place in the ocean due to shipwrecks.

Apart from these given methods, there are several other methods that can be used for separating oil and water mixtures, which includes decantation, distillation, centrifugal separation, etc.