Effect of water salt composition on oil spill dispersant efficiency determined in laboratory conditions

Abstract

The effect of the salt composition of water (model aqueous solutions of NaCl and artificial sea salt Instant Ocean, as well as water from the Pechora Sea) on the effectiveness of oil spill dispersants determined in laboratory conditions is studied. The efficiency of dispersants (Finasol OSR 52, Slickgone NS and Slickgone EW) was evaluated three samples of crude oil produced in the Russian Federation. Those oil samples of different composition and properties were used at fixed values of the dispersant-oil ratio (1:10), water temperature (20 ± 2°C) and salinity (35 ± 2%). It is shown that the effectiveness of the oil spill disper­sant depends on the nature (composition) of water in which the oil is dispersed, other things being the same. An anomalous behavior of one of the oil samples was found when it was dispersed in an aqueous so­ lution of NaCl under the action of Finasol OSR 52 and Slickgone EW Good convergence of the numerical values of the efficiency of dispersants was obtained when testing them in an aqueous solution of artificial sea salt Instant Ocean and in the water of the Pechora Sea. It is noted that to assess the effectiveness of dispersants in laboratory conditions, it is advisable to use water of the natural object in which this disper­sant is planned to be used. Moreover, the possibility of using an aqueous solution of the artificial salt when its salt composition is similar to that for real sea water was noted.