Abstract
This study examines the use of chemical dispersant to treat an oil spill after the initial release. The natural and chemically enhanced dispersion of four oil products (dilbit, dilynbit, synbit and conventional crude) were investigated in a wave tank. Experiments were conducted in spring and summer to capture the impact of temperature, and the conditions in the tank were of breaking waves with a wave height of 0.4 m. The results showed that natural dispersion effectiveness (DE) was less than 10%. But the application of dispersant increased the DE by an order of magnitude with a statistically significant level (p < 0.05). Season (spring versus summer) had an effect on chemical DE of all oils, except for the conventional oil. Thus, the DE of dilbit products is highly dependent on the season/temperature. A model was fitted to the DE as a function of oil viscosity for the chemically dispersed oil, and the correlation was found to be very good. The model was then combined with a previous model compiled by the author predicting oil viscosity as a function of time, to produce a model that predicts the DE as function of time. Such a relation could be used for responders tackling oil spills.
Highlights
Crude bitumen, produced in Alberta, Canada, is a highly viscous crude oil and semi-solid at room temperature
The anticipated growth in oil production and transport increases the risk of oil spills in aquatic areas, and places greater demands on oil spill transport routes and capabilities to respond to spills
Access Western Blend, synthetic bitumen and Western Canadian Select were selected, because they represent the highest volume of oil sands products transported throughout Canada
Summary
Crude bitumen, produced in Alberta, Canada, is a highly viscous crude oil and semi-solid at room temperature. The majority of the oil produced is shipped via pipeline and railcars outside the province for refinement or export. The blending process for crude bitumen is at the discretion of the oil producer, so a wide variety of products of varying chemical composition is produced [1]. Heavy oil sands (blended bitumen) represent ca. Two million barrels per day (b/d) of the four million b/d of crude oil produced and transported in Canada [2]. Oil products may be transferred to tankers for shipment to global markets. Canada’s production, transport, and sale of these products are expected to increase by a million barrels per day in the decade [2]. The anticipated growth in oil production and transport increases the risk of oil spills in aquatic areas, and places greater demands on oil spill transport routes and capabilities to respond to spills
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