[thereefaquarist]

Hi Chem Forum, I want to get some opinions. I will try to make this as short as possible.
I am doing a science project that will test the effectiveness of a protein skimmer at removing crude oil from marine water. My main question is whether there are protein molecules in crude oil that can be removed by a protein skimmer, because if it is not possible i don't want to try it.

My experiment will use a 10 gallon tank that will use an external cone skimmer that i will build to the specs of an atb cone using a laguna pump and custom venturi. I will buy a bunch of crude oil and on test number one i will pour 15% of tank volume in crude oil with 85% marine water. I will then leave the skimmer for 24 hours to create a good skim head. Then I will distill the water so that only oil is left behind and will measure the difference in oil left behind. I will repeat this with 25% and 50% saturation repeating the same steps.
If you have any input that could make this experiment more accurate, please share.
Thanks in advance.