18 High Throughput Experimentation and Data Analysis Revealing the Intricate Interplay of Oil Spills and Microplastics

Faculty Mentor: Samira Shiri (Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah)

Throughout the summer of 2025, I, Joshua Narine, had the opportunity to work with Dr. Samira Shiri, Ahmad Dousti and Basbo Ayelazono. Together we tested and researched as well as challenged the idea on how oil interacts with various environmental factors especially in the presence of microplastics. Our aim was to improve predictive capabilities with respect to the fate of oil spills and facilitate the development of more efficient and environmentally friendly clean up methods. The experiment was structured around two primary objectives: first, to experimentally determine the interfacial transport mechanisms of microplastic-oil interactions across various model liquids and environmental conditions; and second, to develop theoretical models and phase diagrams to explain the physics behind these interactions. These objectives were split into two major tasks to be carried out over a two-year period. As of summer 2025, we were focused on Task #1 S4 – studying the effects of all relevant variables.

I collaborated with Dr. Shiri, Ahmad and Basbo virtually while they conducted lab experiments at the University of Utah. Early in the summer, I was assigned to create a proposal breakdown. This helped me become more familiar with the experiment and introduced me to Overleaf, a LaTeX-based software for technical writing and presentations. Despite being my first time using it, I found it both challenging and engaging, it was exciting to see how the code comes alive in the presentation.

Alongside this, I spent several weeks conducting literature reviews. My goal was to identify knowledge gaps in existing research related to microplastic-oil interactions. This meant diving into scientific papers, pulling out new ideas, and flagging unanswered questions that could strengthen or refine our ongoing work. One of the more hands-on aspects of my summer involved image analysis and data analysis using ImageJ. ImageJ is an open-source image processing software widely used in scientific research for analyzing patterns, shapes, and particle behavior in experimental images. Ahmad provided a sequence of 39 images which were derived from the lab. Each image was taken at different stages of the drying process to observe how cracks and particle formations developed over time. My goal was to monitor how cracks, ring structures, and material deposition patterns developed as the sample dried. Using ImageJ, I analyzed each image to gather data across several key categories, including: type of drying pattern, frequency of cracks, average distance between cracks, variation in ring shading, maximum radius, time of operation, crack appearance time, evaporation rate, thickness of rings, and the values of R, r, and the black-to-white area ratio. Each of these parameters helped build a more complete picture of the drying dynamics under varying environmental conditions. ImageJ’s built-in functions allowed me to convert images to grayscale, apply thresholding to isolate specific features like cracks or shaded rings, and use particle analysis to measure area coverage and shape characteristics. I then compiled all the extracted measurements into Excel, where I calculated trends, averaged results, and visualized comparisons across the time-lapse frame. The combination of ImageJ’s visual data extraction and Excel’s organizational and analytical capabilities helped me to quantify and track the progression of patterns over time. Which showed how microplastics and environmental variables influenced drying behavior and crack formation. Ultimately, this analysis played a vital role in supporting our experimental findings and informing the theoretical modeling in the next task of the experiment.

This summer research experience not only deepened my understanding of microplastic-oil interactions but also allowed me to grow both technically and academically. By engaging in proposal development, literature reviews, and hands-on data analysis using tools like Overleaf, ImageJ, and Excel. I was able to contribute meaningfully to a larger scientific effort with real-world environmental impact. Analyzing time-lapse images gave me insight into the drying behavior and crack formation influenced by microplastics, revealing complex dynamics that are critical to modeling oil spill behavior. This work laid the foundation for further theoretical modeling and phase diagram development in the next stage of the experiment. Most importantly, this experience strengthened my research skills, encouraged curiosity, and reaffirmed my passion for engineering.

Bibliography

Lilin, Paul, and Irmgard Bischofberger. “Criteria for Crack Formation and Air Invasion in Drying Colloidal Suspensions.” Langmuir, vol. 38, no. 24, 23 May 2022, pp.7442–7447, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c00397. Accessed 2 Mar. 2023.

Shi, Jing, Lisong Yang, and Colin D. Bain.“Drying of Ethanol/Water Droplets Containing Silica Nanoparticles.” ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 11, no. 15, 22 Mar. 2019, pp. 14275–14285, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b21731. Accessed 9 Dec. 2022.

Shiri, Samira. High Throughput Experimentation and Data Analysis Revealing the Intricate Interplay of Oil Spills and Microplastics Across Diverse Conditions, University of Utah Abstract

Thampi, Sumesh P., and Madivala G, Basavaraj. “Beyond Coffee Rings: Drying Drops of Colloidal Dispersions on Inclined Substrates.” ACS Omega, vol. 5, no. 20, 11 May 2020, pp. 11262–11270, https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.9b04310. Accessed 24 July 2025.