Abstract
Global demand for petroleum keeps increasing while traditional supplies decline. One alternative to the use of conventional crude oils is the utilization of Canadian bitumen. Raw bitumen is a dense, viscous, semi-liquid that is diluted with lighter crude oil to permit its transport through pipelines to terminals where it can then be shipped to global markets. When spilled, it naturally weathers to its original form and becomes dense enough to sink in aquatic systems. This severely limits oil spill recovery and remediation options. Here we report on the application of charred hay as a method for modifying the surface behavior of bitumen in aquatic environments. Waste or surplus hay is abundant in North America. Its surface can easily be modified through charring and/or chemical treatment. We have characterized the modified and charred hay using solid-state NMR, contact angle measurements and infrared spectroscopy. Tests of these materials to treat spilled bitumen in model aquatic systems have been undertaken. Our results indicate that bitumen spills on water will retain their buoyancy for longer periods after treatment with charred hay, or charred hay coated with calcium oxide, improving recovery options.
Highlights
The development of the Canadian oil sands in northern Alberta has become a significant contributor to the Canadian economy
gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis of the hay condensate showed that it contained many compounds, with three significant contributors being vanillin lactoside, 2,6-dimethoxyphenol and
This work has shown that charred hay is an effective substrate for adsorption and flotation of bitumen
Summary
The development of the Canadian oil sands in northern Alberta has become a significant contributor to the Canadian economy. A later 2012 publication in the journal, Environmental Science and Technology, discussed a number of shortcomings and oversights in the 2010 assessment [4] Both reports neglect to mention the need for new oil spill treatment technologies, given that bitumen and dilbit, under the correct circumstances, will sink. Preliminary laboratory investigations showed that the dilbit products remained buoyant under natural ocean-simulated weathering conditions (0–15 °C) except when mixed with fine to moderately sized sediments [10] One gap in this investigation was that only two samples of dilbit (e.g., Cold Lake Blend and Access Western Blend) were tested, and they were not compared to a base sample of crude bitumen.
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