DISPERSANT EFFECTIVENESS ON THREE OILS UNDER VARIOUS SIMULATED ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

• Main Authors: SUBHASHINI CHANDRASEKAR, GEORGE SORIAL, JAMES WEAVER
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2005
• Subjects: Prudhoe Bay
• Online Access: http://oaspub.epa.gov/eims/eimsapi.dispdetail?deid=135433

The complexity of chemical and physical interactions between spilled oils, dispersants and the sea, necessitates an empirical approach for describing the interaction between the dispersant and oil slick which may provide a guide to dispersant effects on oil slicks. Recently, US EPA developed an improved laboratory dispersant testing protocol, called the baffled flask test. Use of this protocol was the basis for the experiments conducted in this study. A factorial experimental design was conducted in order to determine which of the factors temperature, oil type, oil weathering, dispersant type, and rotation speed of the shaker are related to the effectiveness of a dispersant used in oil remediation. Three oils were chosen to represent light refined oil (Number 2 Fuel Oil 2FO), light crude oil (South Louisiana Crude Oil (SLC)) and medium crude oil (Prudhoe Bay Crude Oil (PBC)). Statistical analyses of the experimental data performed separately for the three oils revealed that certain two-way interactions exist among the factors. For SLC, temperature and mixing energy were significant factors, for PBC, temperature, mixing energy and weathering were significant and for 2FO, only temperature was a significant factor. Empirical relationships between the amount of oil dispersed and the variables studied were developed.