ABSTRACT
Oil spills impose serious damage on the environment. Mechanical recovery by the help of oil sorbents is one of the most important countermeasures in oil spill response. Most sorbents, however, end up in landfills or in incineration after a single use. These options either produce another source of pollution or increase the oil recovery cost. In this study a biosurfactant was used to clean used oil sorbents. This use of biosurfactants is new. Washing parameters tested included sorbent type, washing time, surfactant dosage and temperature. It was found that with biosurfactant washing more than 95% removal of the oil from sorbents was achieved, depending on the washing conditions. Biosurfactants were found to have considerable potential for recycling the used sorbents.
Subject(s)
Glycolipids/metabolism , Petroleum , Polypropylenes/metabolism , Surface-Active Agents/metabolism , Microscopy, Electron, Scanning , North Sea , Temperature , Time FactorsABSTRACT
The formation of water-in-crude oil emulsions occurs when crude oils are spilled into sea. The water-in-crude oil emulsions significantly change the properties of the spilled crude oils and in turn influence the choices made relating to oil spill countermeasures. The water-in-crude oil emulsions were characterized using various techniques in this study. The environmental scanning electron microscopy observation of water droplets in the emulsions is also presented. It is a powerful tool in emulsion observations.
Subject(s)
Petroleum , Seawater/chemistry , Accidents , Emulsions , Environmental Monitoring , Microscopy, ElectronABSTRACT
Mechanical recovery of oil by oil sorbents is one of the most important countermeasures in marine oil-spill response. Polypropylene is the ideal material for marine oil-spill recovery due to its low density, low water uptake and excellent physical and chemical resistance. Different forms of polypropylene nonwoven sorbents were evaluated in this study in terms of initial oil-sorption capacities and oil-retention properties. The investigation revealed that the fibre diameter, sorbent porosity and oil property are the most important factors in the oil-sorption performance of polypropylene nonwoven sorbents.
