Oil Spill Accidents Research Articles

Biomass-Based Sorbent with Superoleophilic from Ulva Prolifera for Oil Spill Cleanup

In this study, we demonstrate a new all bio-based adsorbent material by treating Enteromorpho prolifera (EP) fibers with tannic acid-ferric chloride complex and then grafting hydrophobic group octadecylamine. All raw materials are easily available, low-cost, and safe. The modified EP fibers have approximately 63.4 g g−1 of oil absorption and 1.4 g g−1 of water absorption, which is an 62.8% increase in oil absorption and an 82% increase in hydrophobicity over that of untreated EP fibers, respectively, exhibiting high hydrophobicity and oleophilicity. The affinity discrimination to water and oil enables hydrophobic algae candidate materials to separate oils and water efficiently, both in an oil–water mixture and a water-in-oil emulsion. In summary, the as-synthesized modified EP demonstrates a broad application prospect in the treatment of oil spill accidents and oily wastewater.

Natural and Human Impacts on Coastal Areas

Coasts are the most densely populated regions in the world and are vulnerable to different natural and human factors, e.g., sea-level rise, coastal accretion and erosion processes, the intensification of sea storms and hurricanes, the presence of marine litter, chronic pollution and beach oil spill accidents, etc. Although coastal zones have been affected by local anthropic activities for decades, their impacts on coastal ecosystems is often unclear. Several papers are presented in this Special Issue detailing the interactions between natural processes and human impacts in coastal ecosystems all around the world. A better understanding of such natural and human impacts is therefore of great relevance to confidently predict their negative effects on coastal areas and thus promote different conservation strategies. The implementation of adequate management measures will help coastal communities adapt to future scenarios in the short and long term and prevent damage due to different pollution types, e.g., beach oil spill accidents, through the establishment of Environmental Sensitivity Maps.

On the Possible Climatic Consequences of the Large Oil Spills in Oceans

In the North Atlantic and the Northern Ocean, from the second half of 2010 to 2014, satellite imagery data showed increased surface water temperatures (in the Icelandic Depression area in September–October 2010, it was 1.3 °C higher than in 2009). The peak of the annual sum of mean monthly ocean surface temperatures near the Icelandic Depression in 2010 (109.3 °C), as well as the negative values of the monthly averaged North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) indices, estimated in the second half of 2010 and until March 2011, can be explained by the appearance of an additional film of oil origin on the water surface, formed after an oil spill accident at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Insufficient evaporative cooling of surface waters near the Icelandic Depression related to the formation of an additive film due to the influence of pollution of the North Sea by oil can explain the earlier peak in the annual sum of mean monthly ocean surface temperatures near the Icelandic Depression in 2003 (107.2 °C). Although global warming is usually ascribed to increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, ocean surface water pollution could increase the heat content of the ocean and explain the steady temperature stratification and desalination of these waters due to the melting of Greenland’s glaciers. Thus, when analyzing the concept of global warming, it is necessary to take into account the aspects of pollution of the ocean surface waters to assess the changes in their capacity to accumulate solar radiation, as well as the changes in the heat content of the ocean mixing zone (~200 m).

Biomimetic super-wetting membranes via in-situ growth and synchronous integration of ZIF nanoleaves (ZIF-Ls) for emulsified oily wastewater purification and catalytic Knoevenagel condensation

To address the increasingly severe oil spill accidents and water contamination, the development of super-wetting membranes with high oil/water separation efficiency is in great demand but remains challenging. The critical challenge lies in the rational design and fabrication of robust rough surface with hierarchical micro/nano-structure. In this study, biomimetic super-wetting polyacrylonitrile composite membrane was developed through in-situ synthesis and synchronous integration of zeolitic imidazolate framework nanoleaves (ZIF-Ls). Thorough investigation was conducted to assess the effect of the ZIF-Ls growth time on membrane morphology and surface wetting property. Incorporating the nanoleaf-like ZIF-Ls onto the surface of the membrane provided the surface with micro/nano rough structure and superamphiphilic/superlyophobic features. The prepared membrane showed great separation capability toward various O/W and W/O emulsions, and could be easily regenerated by employing a simple rinsing and drying procedure with high separation efficiency sustained even after multiple separation cycles. Moreover, the membrane with ZIF-Ls demonstrated outstanding catalytic performance in the Knoevenagel condensation. This study achieves advancements in the development of super-wettable membranes with outstanding performance in separating emulsions and the as-prepared membranes have the potential to serve as promising candidates for practical oily mixture treatment.

Assessment of Environmental quality and Environmental Damage due to oil spill accident at Oil India, Tinsukia, Assam and Scope for Environmental Compensation

Assessment of Environmental quality and Environmental Damage due to oil spill accident at Oil India, Tinsukia, Assam and Scope for Environmental Compensation

Оценка потенциального ущерба почвам от аварийных разливов нефти и нефтепродуктов на территории Арктического региона

The intensification of economic activities by oil and gas companies in the Arctic has significantly increased the risk of environmental damage, necessitating compensation for potential harm caused by these businesses. A major risk factor in this context is accidental oil spills, which are particularly challenging to predict, thereby complicating the assessment of their consequences and the development of preventive measures. The most advanced forecasting methods rely on probabilistic assessments of spill risk factors, which require special field studies and statistical data. This research considers the key approaches to the economic assessment of environmental damage, emphasizing the need to consider the unique characteristics of the Arctic.The goal of the study is to estimate the most probable soil damage from accidental oil spills using a simulation model. It will be especially relevant for territories where the area affected by accidental oil spills is considerable or has increased significantly over the past few years, according to available statistical data. In the Arctic, the Usinsky District of the Komi Republic is one such region. Using the case of this district, an assessment of potential damage is conducted for three scenarios with varying levels of pollution. The results enable an evaluation of potential damage, providing different values corresponding to multiple scenarios with distinct probabilities. The findings can inform oil and gas companies in developing preventive measures and assist regulatory authorities in determining appropriate environmental reparations from companies.

Transcriptome responses to benzo[a]pyrene in liver slices of sub-arctic fish species

Due to the expanding oil-related activities, the arctic and sub-arctic marine environments are increasingly vulnerable to oil-related pollution such as accidental oil spills. These cold-water ecosystems harbor many fish species that are both ecologically and economically important such as the pelagic polar cod (Boreogadus saida), capelin (Mallotus villosus), and benthic long rough dab (Hippoglossoides platessoides). The latter two are much less studied and it is crucial to characterize their responses to oil-related contaminants and develop molecular biomarkers and genomic resources for future monitoring. In this study, liver slice preparation and culture methods were used to characterize the transcriptome responses (using RNA-seq) in capelin and long rough dab to exposures of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compound benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). The liver slice culture and exposure experiments were performed onboard a research vessel in the Barents Sea. Strong up-regulation of genes involved in biotransformation, particularly the aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling pathway was observed in both species. A comparison of the number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) with previously published polar cod exposures indicates that the latter responded more strongly (higher number of genes), suggesting higher uptake and bioconcentration of BaP in the fatty liver tissue, although other factors such as differences in clearance rate could potentially affect the responses. This study provides new genomic resources and gene expression biomarkers in capelin and long rough dab, enhancing our understanding of their response mechanism to oil-related contaminants.

Chemical exposure from the Hebei spirit oil spill accident and its long-term effects on mental health

While evidence indicates that exposure to oil spill incidents can affect mental health, it is unclear whether the mental health effects result from the incident itself or from exposure to associated chemicals. Oil contains chemicals that can impact mental health and these chemicals may have long-term effects due to their persistence in the environment. To address the gap in current knowledge, we conducted cross-sectional and prospective analyses of data from adults who participated in the Health Effects of the Hebei Spirit Oil Spill study. To assess chemical exposure from oil spills, we used indirect exposure indicators such as distance from the contaminated oil band to residences and duration of clean-up work, along with direct exposure indicators such as urine metabolite concentrations of volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Mental health assessments covered posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, state anxiety, and trait anxiety. In the cross-sectional analyses, all four mental health issues were found to be associated with proximity to the oil band (p-value<0.05) and showed a positive association with clean-up work duration (p-value<0.05). Cox regression analysis revealed that higher urinary t, t-muconic acid levels were associated with an increased risk of depression (Hazard Ratio [HR] = 1.55, 95 % Confidence Interval [CI] = 1.05–2.28), and elevated 1-hydroxypyrene levels increased the risk of PTSD (HR = 1.60, 95 % CI = 1.03–2.48). Additionally, higher urinary 2-naphthol levels were associated with increased state anxiety (HR = 1.39, 95 % CI = 1.00–1.93) and trait anxiety (HR = 1.64, 95 % CI = 1.15–2.32). These associations persisted even after controlling for distance and duration variables related to psychosocial exposure. Our findings suggest that environmental disaster response plans should prioritize minimizing chemical exposure while also considering the duration and nature of the mental health impacts.

Oil uptake via marine snow: Effects on blue mussels (Mytilus sp.)

Accidental oil spills into the ocean can lead to downward transport and settling of oil onto the seafloor as part of marine snow, as seen during the Deepwater Horizon incident in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. The arctic and subarctic regions may favor conditions leading to this benthic oil deposition, prompting questions about the potential impacts on benthic communities. This study investigated the effects of oil-contaminated marine snow uptake on the blue mussel (Mytilus sp.). We exposed mussels for four days to 1) oil-contaminated marine snow (MOS treatment), or to 2) chemically-enhanced water-accommodated fraction (CEWAF) of oil plus unaggregated food particles (CEWAF treatment). Both oil treatments received the same nominal concentration of oil and food. Two controls were included: 1) Clean seawater plus unaggregated food (agg-free control) and 2) clean seawater plus marine snow (marine snow control). After the exposure, mussels were allowed to recover for ten days under clean, running seawater. Samples were taken right before and after the exposure period, and after the recovery phase for the following endpoints: distribution (partitioning) of oil compounds between seawater and MOS, and between seawater and mussel tissue; DNA damage (assessed via the comet assay); clearance rate; and condition index [tissue dry weight (g) divided by shell length (mm)]. Some discernable patterns were found in the partitioning of oil compounds between seawater and MOS. However, these patterns did not translate to any significant differences in the partitioning of oil compounds into mussel tissue between the two oil treatments. DNA damage did not exceed background levels (10% tail DNA or less; to be expected in healthy, viable cells) at any sampling time point, but significantly higher DNA damage was observed in CEWAF-T compared to MOS-T mussels after the recovery phase. After the exposure, a significant difference emerged in the clearance rate between the CEWAF treatment and the agg-free control, but not between the MOS treatment and the marine snow control. All mussels except those from the CEWAF treatment exhibited an increased condition index after the exposure time. Together, these results suggest that aggregates could moderate the effects of oil exposure on blue mussels, possibly by providing better, more concentrated nutrition than unaggregated food particles.

Electrospun nanofibrous membranes based on fluorine-free polyimide for swift oil spill cleanup and emulsion separation

The urgent need to mitigate environmental damage caused by oil and organic pollutants in oil production industries and spill accidents necessitates effective removal methods. This study introduces novel nanofibrous membranes composed of fluorine-free polyimide, which was formed by electrospinning of BPADA-TrMPD, produced by polycondensation reaction in one-step and at high temperature using 4,4′-(4,4′-isopropylidenediphenoxy)bis-(phthalic anhydride) (BPADA) and 2,4,6-trimethyl-m-phenylenediamine (TrMPD). The resulting membranes exhibited a hydrophobic nature with a water contact angle of 114° and an oil contact angle of ∼ 0°. The adsorption performance of the nanofibers was explored using Saudi crude oil and non-polar organic solvents (i.e., n-hexane and dodecane). The developed membranes exhibited a crude oil uptake ranging from 35 to 60 g g−1 and demonstrated rapid removal capabilities, reaching equilibrium sorption capacity within a few minutes for crude oil. Moreover, these membranes displayed remarkable flux of 1991, 1508, and 206 L m−2h−1 for dodecane, n-hexane, and crude oil, respectively. The capability of the fluorine-free mats designed for oil spill cleanup was validated through its application in treating actual samples. The durability and recyclability of the membranes were showcased by regenerating them through mechanical treatment.

Utilizing deep learning algorithms for automated oil spill detection in medium resolution optical imagery

This study evaluates the performance of three typical convolutional neural network based deep learning algorithms for oil spill detection using medium-resolution optical satellite imagery from Sentinel-2 MSI, Landsat-8 OLI, and Landsat-9 OLI2. Oil slick training and validation dataset were created through a semi-automatic labeling approach, based on chronic and accidental oil spill cases reported worldwide. The research enhances UNet, BiSeNetV2, and DeepLabV3+ architectures by integrating attention mechanisms including the Squeeze-and-Excitation module (SE), Convolutional Block Attention Module (CBAM), and a Simple, parameter-free Attention Module (SimAM), analyzing the optimal model for oil spill detection. Notably, UNet integrated with CBAM, especially with sun glint as a feature, significantly outperformed others, achieving a micro-average F1 score of 88.8 %. This research highlights deep learning's potential in optical remote sensing for oil spill detection, stressing its escalating relevance with the growing deployment of medium- to high-resolution optical satellites.

Marine Ecological Damage Assessment Model for Offshore Oil Extraction

&lt;p&gt;With the progress of society and the development of the economy, people’s awareness of environmental protection is also becoming stronger. Therefore, the damage caused by marine oil spills caused by offshore oil extraction to marine ecology is also receiving more and more attention from people. Marine ecological damage assessment involves various disciplines such as environmental chemistry, biology, toxicology, and hydrodynamics, and requires a large amount of data support, making it a challenge in the field of marine claims. To quantitatively evaluate marine oil spill accidents, the Spill Impact Model Application Package model is used as the system framework to build a marine ecological damage assessment model. The MIKE21 model is used for physical fate simulation, while the biological effects model is used for resource damage assessment of the ecological environment and aquatic organisms. The model is validated using the oil spill accident in Dongshan Bay as an example. The validation results show that the total loss of aquatic organisms under conditions 1 and 2 is 67.30 tons and 56.03 tons, respectively. Under condition 1, the ecological environment of coral and mangroves is affected by an area of 8.805km2 and 5.859km2, respectively, resulting in a loss of 19.5168 million yuan in ecological resources. Under condition 2, the ecological environment of coral and mangroves is affected by an area of 7.646 km2 and 13.515 km2, respectively, resulting in a loss of 26.322 million yuan in ecological resources. In summary, it can be seen that the research on marine ecological damage assessment models for offshore oil extraction provides certain reference value for the field of marine ecological damage assessment in China.&lt;/p&gt;

Assessing the effectiveness of local organic materials as sorbents for oil spill response in Arctic waters

The paper presents the results of a comparative assessment of the sorption characteristics of regional natural raw materials of organic origin: sphagnum moss (Sphаgnum palustre L.), fucus algae (Fucus vesiclousus), a composite based on them and peat in comparison with the synthetic sorbent OilSorb used in the practice of emergency rescue units to eliminate accidental oil spills. Experimental data have been obtained on potential pollutants in the Barents Sea (oil ARCO and diesel fuel) and the water capacity of sorbents for standard conditions at temperatures of 21–23 °C according to GOST 33627-2015 and in the temperature range of 10–12 °C typical for the summer period on the Kola Peninsula. The sorption characteristics of the materials under study have been evaluated in the "sea water – petroleum product" system, which simulates a real oil spill in the marine area. Tests in a model system simulating real conditions demonstrate significant changes in the efficiency of using sorption materials shown by them under standard conditions. The study has established the dynamics of the distribution of sorbed oil products and water in the materials under consideration, as well as residual oil products in the water of the "sea water – ARCO oil" and "sea water – diesel fuel" systems at different exposure times. During an exposure time of 30, 60, 90 minutes under the conditions of a system simulating a real oil spill in the water area, the material based on sphagnum moss has the most effective and time-stable indicators of sorption of oil products.

Fabrication of mechanically stable fabric-based hydrogel membranes based on dual network toughening strategy for high efficient oil–water emulsion separation

Massive discharge of oily wastewater originating from oil-related industry, residential sewage and frequent oil spill accidents leads to serious environmental problems and health concerns. Amphoteric polyelectrolytes and hydrogel materials have been employed in the context of oil–water separation to resist oil pollution. However, the weak mechanical properties limit their practical application in complex environments. To address this, the design of a mechanically stable superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic composite membrane (PSBMA/PAM@CF) was been proposed by ingeniously in-situ growth of 3- [N, N-dimethyl −[2-(2-methylpropyl-2-enoxyloxy) ethyl] ammonium] propane-1-sulfonate (PSBMA)/polyacrylamide (PAM) dual network (DN) hydrogel on cotton fabric. The DN hydrogel strategy increased the stress of PSBMA hydrogel from 0.200 Mpa to 5.80 Mpa. The toughening effect of the DN hydrogel and its entanglement with cotton fibers endowed the membranes with excellent mechanical properties, and resulted in stable underwater superoleophobic and antifouling properties even after mechanical stability test. The PSBMA/PAM@CF membrane exhibited a separation efficiency exceeding 98.0 % for all types of oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by surfactants, and the membrane’s permeance remained at 1.75 × 103 L·m−2·h−1·bar−1 after 30 cycles. Additionally, the membrane exhibited a high permeance recovery rate of 98.2 %, surpassing general membranes. More significantly, we visualized the separation process through fluid dynamics simulations and revealed the separation mechanism of oil–water emulsions by membranes. It is expected that this work will provide new prospects for designing anti-oil-fouling membranes and applying in practical oil/water separation.

Marine Radar Oil Spill Detection Method Based on YOLOv8 and SA_PSO

In the midst of a rapidly evolving economic landscape, the global demand for oil is steadily escalating. This increased demand has fueled marine extraction and maritime transportation of oil, resulting in a consequential and uneven surge in maritime oil spills. Characterized by their abrupt onset, rapid pollution dissemination, prolonged harm, and challenges in short-term containment, oil spill accidents pose significant economic and environmental threats. Consequently, it is imperative to adopt effective and reliable methods for timely detection of oil spills to minimize the damage inflicted by such incidents. Leveraging the YOLO deep learning network, this paper introduces a methodology for the automated detection of oil spill targets. The experimental data pre-processing incorporated denoise, grayscale modification, and contrast boost. Subsequently, realistic radar oil spill images were employed as extensive training samples in the YOLOv8 network model. The trained detection model demonstrated rapid and precise identification of valid oil spill regions. Ultimately, the oil films within the identified spill regions were extracted utilizing the simulated annealing particle swarm optimization (SA-PSO) algorithm. The proposed method for offshore oil spill survey presented here can offer immediate and valid data support for regular patrols and emergency reaction efforts.

Fabrication of Triblock Elastomer Foams and Gelation Studies for Oil Spill Remediation.

Polymeric foamed materials are among the most widely utilized technologies for oil spill accidents and releases of oil-contaminated wastewater oil due to their porosity to absorb and separate oil/water effectively. However, a major limitation of traditional polymeric foams is their reliance on an ad/absorption mechanism as the sole method of oil capture, leading to potential oil leakage once their saturation point is exceeded. Tri-block polymer styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS) is a fascinating absorbent material that can bypass this limitation by both capturing oil and providing a sealing mechanism via gelation to prevent oil leakage due to its unique chemical structure. SEBS foams are produced via simultaneous crosslinking and foaming that results in an impressive expansion ratio of up to 15.2 with over 93% porosity. Most importantly, the SEBS foams show great potential as oil absorbents in spill remediation, demonstrating rapid and efficient oil absorption coupled with superhydrophobic properties. Moreover, the unique interaction between the oil and SEBS enables the formation of a physical gel, acting as an effective barrier against oil leakage. These findings indicate the potential for commercializing SEBS foam as a viable option for geotextiles to mitigate oil spill concerns from infrastructures.

Bionic silanized cellulose superhydrophobic paper for efficient oil-water separation

With the frequent occurrence of oil spill accidents and the increasing discharge of industrial oily wastewater, oil–water separation has become a global challenge to protect the ecological environment. Simple, fluorine-free preparation of high-throughput superhydrophobic materials is important for realizing efficient separation of oil/water mixtures. Paper-based materials have several advantages, such as low price and renewability, which make them valuable for applications. In this work, we propose a simple and economical two-part immersion technique to prepare superhydrophobic cellulose paper, which is modified with octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) directly and then assembled hydrophobic silica. The prepared functionalized paper is not only superhydrophobic (static water contact angle up to 157°) and superoleophilic, but also exhibits acid and alkali resistance and abrasion cycle resistance. After 10 separation cycles for a variety of heavy oil/water mixtures, the separation efficiency was as high as 99.31 % with fluxes greater than 5100 L/(m2·h). This simple, scalable, low-cost superhydrophobic paper shows great potential in the field of oil/water separation.

Solvent-responsive switching wettability of superoleophobic/superhydrophilic quartz sand filter medium facilitates rapidly oil/water separation and demulsification

Oil-spill accidents occur frequently, and the oil pollution caused by oil spills is attracting extensive attention from all circles of society. To resolve this problem, solvent-responsive superoleophobic/superhydrophilic quartz sand (SSQS) was manufactured by introducing ZnO nanoparticles, short-chain fluorinated compounds, and hydrophilic-induced units into the surface of quartz sand. Experimental results showed that SSQS can reversibly convert the superoleophobic/superhydrophilic surfaces into superoleophilic/underoil superhydrophobic surfaces within 10 s. The solvent-responsive surface of SSQS demonstrated selective separation performance for mixtures of oil/water and various surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water emulsions and water-in-oil emulsions before and after wettability conversion. Oil/water solutions were separated synchronously and continuously using the "┴" type of oil/water separating system, with a separation efficiencies of 99.33 % at high flux. After ten runs of the wettability transition, the oil/water mixture's separation efficiency remained over 99 %. More importantly, SSQS can accomplish the on-demand, gravity-driven demulsification and separation of oil/water emulsions with excellent separation efficiency and flux. The directional migration of oil droplets on the SSQS surface could possibly be described by the wetting performance of oil phase on the special wettability surface, and the solvent-responsive wettability transition of the SSQS surface. SSQS also exhibited brilliant mechanical durability, anticorrosion ability, and wetting stability under severe conditions. Therefore, this work provided a new research direction for the reversible wettability transition of granular filter media.

Deblurring Network for UV Images of Colorless Chemicals Floating on Sea Surface

Automatic imaging monitoring technology has been developed as a mature solution to address oil spill accidents. However, when airborne equipment is used to monitor the area of leakage, there is a chance of relative motion between the equipment and the target, leading to blurred images. This can hinder subsequent monitoring tasks, such as the identification and segmentation of hazardous chemical targets. Therefore, it is crucial to deblur these images, as sharper images can substantially improve the precision and accuracy of these tasks. In light of this, this paper presents a novel multi-scale recurrent deblurring network, leveraging the Convolutional Block Attention Module (CBAM) attention mechanism, to restore clear images in an end-to-end manner. The CBAM attention mechanism has been incorporated, which learns features in both the spatial and channel domains, thereby enhancing the deblurring ability of the network by combining the attention mechanisms of multiple domains. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method, we applied the deblurring network to our self-built dataset of blurred ultraviolet (UV) images of colorless chemicals floating on water surfaces. Compared to the SRN-Deblur deblurring network, the proposed approach yields improved PSNR and SSIM results. Moreover, when compared with the state-of-the-art DeblurGANv2 method, it performs better in the SSIM. These results demonstrate that the proposed multi-scale recurrent deblurring network, based on the CBAM attention mechanism, exhibits a superior deblurring performance.

Oil-recovery performance of a superhydrophobic sponge-covered disc skimmer

Frequent oil spill accidents caused by transportation, storage and usage may lead to severe damage on aquatic and ecological environments. Effective methods for rapid oil recovery are urgently in demand. Polyvinyl chloride, hydrophobic nano-SiO2, expanded graphite were separately applied to polyurethane and melamine sponge to fabricate superhydrophobic sponge material. The selected superhydrophobic sponge was introduced to establish sponge - covered disc skimmer. Oil recovery tests of the device were conducted to determine the optimum parameters. The examined operating conditions encompassed sponge thickness, immersion depth, rotational speed, oil slick thickness, operation time. The results showed that the melamine sponge modified by both polyvinyl chloride and hydrophobic nano-SiO2 exhibits super-hydrophobicity with a water contact angle of 150.3°. The absorption capacity for diesel oil can reach 53.89 g/g. The absorption capacity can still achieve 90 % of its initial capacity even after 500 extrusion-absorption separation tests. The results indicate the superiority of the superhydrophobic sponge covered surface in oil recovery over the standard steel surface regardless of the operating conditions. The recovery rate of the device can still achieve 96.4 % of its initial capacity with 95 % efficiency even after 85 h operation. The results suggest the superhydrophobic sponge - covered disc skimmer may have great application perspectives in oil spill recovery.