| Title | Herding oil slicks with fatty alcohol and carbonaceous particles |
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| Author | Earnden, L; Foster, S E; Tchoukov, P; Stoyanov, S R ; Pensini, E |
| Source | Water, Air and Soil Pollution vol. 233, issue 7, 2022 p. 1-14, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-022-05706-6 |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2022 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20220208 |
| Publisher | Springer |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; digital; on-line |
| File format | pdf |
| Subjects | fossil fuels; Science and Technology; Nature and Environment; oil slicks |
| Illustrations | charts; diagrams; photographs |
| Program | CanmetENERGY - Devon Director, Upstream and Environmental Impacts - Upstream and Environmental Impacts Operations |
| Released | 2022 07 07 |
| Abstract | Oil slicks occurring during petroleum transportation or production are major sources of surface water pollution, and spread over large areas. Herders are interfacially active species that reduce the
spread of oil slicks on water surfaces, facilitating slick recovery. Here, octanol (a readily biodegradable fatty alcohol) is used as a herder to facilitate the recovery of diluted bitumen and conventional crude oil spilled onto the surface of fresh
and synthetic marine water. While octanol promptly decreases the area of simulated oil slicks in Petri dishes, over time it partitions into the oil phase and lowers its interfacial tension. As a result, low-viscosity hydrocarbons (toluene and
conventional crude oil) re-spread. This study uses charcoal to suppress re-spreading and facilitate the mechanical recovery of oil slicks. Charcoal partitions into the crude oil phase and does not stabilize crude oil in water emulsions upon mixing,
as demonstrated using optical microscopy. This ensures that charcoal particles are not lost to the water phase and do not promote hydrocarbon dispersion. Charcoal prevents herded slicks from re-expanding by rigidifying the crude oil-water interface
(demonstrated using a Langmuir trough) and potentially due to the affinity of crude oil for charcoal. Therefore, charcoal facilitates the physical removal of crude oil slicks after herding, as qualitatively assessed by retrieving them from Petri
dishes with the aid of a spatula. While charcoal also facilitates the recovery of herded lowviscosity conventional crude oil, it has only a marginal effect on the recovery of herded bitumen, which has high viscosity. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Oil spills occurring accidentally during transportation are major sources of surface water pollution. Herders are interfacially active species that
reduce the spread of oil spills on water surfaces, thereby facilitating spill containment and recovery. Here, octanol is used as a model herder to facilitate the recovery of toluene, diluted bitumen and conventional crude oil spilled in fresh and
synthetic marine water. While octanol promptly decreases the area of simulated oil spills, over time it partitions in the oil phase and causes low viscosity hydrocarbons to re-spread. This study uses charcoal to suppress re-spreading and facilitate
the mechanical recovery of oil spills. Charcoal contracts spills in synthetic marine water and rigidifies the interface between toluene and fresh water. Therefore, charcoal facilitates the physical removal of toluene spills after herding, as
qualitatively assessed by retrieving them with the aid of a spatula. While charcoal facilitates the recovery of low viscosity conventional crude oil, it has a marginal effect on the recovery of herded diluted bitumen, which has high
viscosity. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 330514 |
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