Evaluation of offshore oil spill response waste management strategies: A lifecycle assessment-based framework

Abstract

This study presents a novel life cycle assessment-based framework for low-impact offshore oil spill response waste (OSRW) management. The framework consists of design of experiment, life cycle assessment (LCA), multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), operational cost analysis, and generation of regression models for impact prediction. The framework is applied to four OSRW management strategies as different combinations of solid and liquid oily waste collection, segregation, transportation, and treatment/disposal technologies. Hypothetical scenarios based on oily waste compositions are developed, and the associated environmental impacts and operational costs are evaluated. The LCA results show that oily waste composition accounts for < 5% of the total environmental impacts. Chemical demulsification has the highest total impacts due to high marine ecotoxicity and human toxicity, followed by incineration and transportation. The cost analysis reveals that the strategy comprised of centrifugation and landfilling is most preferable while the combination of chemical demulsification and incineration is least favorable. The strategy of combined use of centrifugation and landfilling is ranked as the most suitable in the MCDA. Regression models are developed to predict environmental impacts based on important factors. The framework can help waste management practitioners select low-impact strategies for handling offshore OSRW.