Design and Implementation of a Coastal-Mounted Sensor for Oil Film Detection on Seawater.

Yongchao Hou,Yu Liu,Bingxin Liu,Tong Wang,Ying Li

doi:10.3390/s18010070

Abstract

The routine surveillance of oil spills in major ports is important. However, existing techniques and sensors are unable to trace oil and micron-thin oil films on the surface of seawater. Therefore, we designed and studied a coastal-mounted sensor, using ultraviolet-induced fluorescence and fluorescence-filter systems (FFSs), to monitor oil spills and overcome the disadvantages of traditional surveillance systems. Using seawater from the port of Lingshui (Yellow Sea, China) and six oil samples of different types, we found that diesel oil’s relative fluorescence intensity (RFI) was significantly higher than those of heavy fuel and crude oils in the 180–300 nm range—in the 300–400 nm range, the RFI value of diesel is far lower. The heavy fuel and crude oils exhibited an opposite trend in their fluorescence spectra. A photomultiplier tube, employed as the fluorescence detection unit, efficiently monitored different oils on seawater in field experiments. On-site tests indicated that this sensor system could be used as a coastal-mounted early-warning detection system for oil spills.

Highlights

Marine environmental problems have attracted increasing attention in recent decades [1,2].Petroleum products play an important role in modern society as a source of energy and chemical feedstock, as a result, oil spills inevitably occur during the production, use, transport and storage of petroleum products
One of the most complete studies of the spread and impact of oil spills on human activity, environmentally sensitive shorelines and offshore regions is the research of Alves et al on the Mediterranean Basin [3,4,5]
Excellent laboratory and remote sensing techniques exist for the remote detection of oil spills [10,11,12,13,14]

Summary

Introduction

Marine environmental problems have attracted increasing attention in recent decades [1,2].Petroleum products play an important role in modern society as a source of energy and chemical feedstock, as a result, oil spills inevitably occur during the production, use, transport and storage of petroleum products. Oil production platforms and oil storage tanks in coastal areas are major sources of oil spills, which can affect various aspects of daily human activities [6,7]. Alves et al modelled the behavior of oil from spills located at various depths below the sea surface [8,9]. Excellent laboratory and remote sensing techniques exist for the remote detection of oil spills [10,11,12,13,14]. For such applications, techniques and sensors are required that permit high-frequency monitoring in the field, at a low cost per analysis. Producing sensor with anti-corrosion properties and a low explosive risk is challenging, given the hazardous nature of old oil storage tanks

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion