Ask A Scientist Chemistry Archive

(Created prior to 1993)

Question: Our elementary class would like to simulate oil spills for 
experimentation.  What would be a non toxic way to color vegetable oil?  We 
need to find something that is soluble in oil but not in water.
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I do not know.  You need something which is relatively nonpolar, 
and can therefore dissolve into the oil.  Another possibility is to find 
something which will react with the oil to change its color.  Hmmmmm...I have 
no idea if this will work, but why not try some natural food dyes?  Try some 
turmeric, for example....if all else fails, maybe you should try dying the 
water blue (which is trivial) and leaving the oil alone.  Or use a naturally 
colored oil!  Try extra-virgin olive oil, which is green!  Or use the 
vegetable oil to fry up a bunch of something (chicken, hush puppies, 
whatever).  It will become darker. I hope this helps!
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