Chapter 15 Foamability of Foam Generated by Use of Surf Excel and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Abstract

An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually applied to marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters, but spills may also occur on land. Oil spills may be due to releases of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells, spills of refined petroleum products (such as gasoline, diesel) and their by-products. It may also cause due to heavier fuels used by large ships such as bunker fuel, or the spill of any oily refuses or waste oil. Spilt oil penetrates into the structure of the plumage of birds and the fur of mammals, reducing its insulating ability, and making them more vulnerable to temperature fluctuations and much less buoyant in the water [1]. The major categories responsible for oil spill mainly includes:(i) Natural seeps: This type is generally due to fissures in the ocean bed and eroding sedimentary rock. Here the hydrocarbons, which ooze out of the seabed, contribute upto 46% approximately. One of the best-known areas where this happens is Coal oil Point along the California Coasts near Santa Barbara. An estimated 2,000-3,000 gallons of crude oil is released naturally from the ocean bottom everyday just a few miles offshore from the beach.