High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Oil dispersants are a mixture of surfactants and solvents that break up an oil spill into droplets. By breaking it up, microbes and the environment can more easily biodegrade the oil. A mixture of oil and water is normally unstable, but can be stabilized with the addition of surfactants. Surfactants improve interaction at the oil-water junction, decreasing surface energy. Dispersants have had negative environmental effects due to their toxicity; however, reformulated dispersants have been accepted by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).