Oil Pollution In Waters Research Articles

Effective degradation of oil pollutants in water by hydrodynamic cavitation combined with electrocatalytic membrane

Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) and electrocatalytic membrane (ECM) can be used in the oxidative degradation of oil pollutants, and a combined method with both techniques can improve the overall degradation efficiency. The results of this study show that HC could promote the dispersion and dissolution of oil in water at 35°C with an inlet pressure of 0.30 MPa and cavitation time of 2 h. Under these conditions, the oil concentration increased from initial 90 mg/L to 215 mg/L, at which point the effect of the degradation by HC could be clearly detected. Then, when the cavitation time was 5 h, the oil concentration decreased from maximal 215 mg/L to 139 mg/L. Subsequently, at a current density of 2 mA/cm2, pH 6, residence time of 3.8 min, electrode spacing of 40 mm and solution temperature of 30°C, the removal rate of oil pollutants reached up to 98.81%. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis shows that ECM could degrade oil pollutants more effectively. Therefore the combination of HC and ECM was demonstrated to be an efficient method for the removal of oil pollutants in water.

Plasma polymer facilitated magnetic technology for removal of oils from contaminated waters

Oil pollution of waters is one of the most serious environmental problems globally. The long half-life and persistence within the environment makes oil particularly toxic and difficult to remediate. There is a significant need for efficient and cost-effective oil recovery technologies to be brought in to practice. In this study, we developed a facile and efficient magnetic separation method. The surface of 316L stainless steel nanoparticles was modified by plasma deposition of 1,7-octadiene and perfluorooctane, producing relatively hydrophobic coatings having water contact angles of 86 and 100°, respectively. Both coatings had high oil removal efficiency (ORE) of >99%. The captured oil could be easily separated by applying an external magnetic force. The ease of material preparation and separation from the water after the oil is captured, and its high ORE is a compelling argument for further development and optimization of the technology to possible utilization into practice. Furthermore, the capacity of plasma polymerization to deliver desired surface properties can extend the application of the technology to removing other chemical and biological contaminants from polluted waters.

Ultra-wetting graphene-based PES ultrafiltration membrane – A novel approach for successful oil-water separation

Oil pollution in water and separation of oil from water are receiving much attention in recent years due to the growing environmental concerns. Membrane technology is one of the emerging solutions for oil-water separation. However, there is a limitation in using polymeric membrane for oil water separation due to its surface properties (wetting behaviour), thermal and mechanical properties. Here, we have shown a simple method to increase the hydrophilicity of the polyethersulfone (PES) hollow fibre ultrafiltration (UF) membrane by using carboxyl, hydroxyl and amine modified graphene attached poly acrylonitrile-co-maleimide (G-PANCMI). The prepared membranes were characterized for its morphology, water and oil contact angle, liquid entry pressure of oil (LEPoil), water permeability and finally subjected to a continuous 8 h filtration test of oil emulsion in water. The experimental data indicates that the G-PANCMI play an important role in enhancing the hydrophilicity, permeability and selectivity of the PES membrane. The water contact angle (CAw) of the PES membrane is reduced from 63.7 ± 3.8° to 22.6 ± 2.5° which is 64.5% reduction while, the oil contact angle was increased from 43.6 ± 3.5° to 112.5 ± 3.2° which is 158% higher compared to that of the PES membrane. Similarly, the LEPoil increased 350% from 50 ± 10 kPa of the control PES membrane to 175 ± 25 kPa of PES-G-PANCMI membrane. More importantly, the water permeability increased by 43% with >99% selectivity. Based on our findings we believe that the development of PES-G-PANCMI membrane will open up a solution for successful oil-water separation.

A method to monitor the oil pollution in water with reflective pulsed terahertz tomography

A method to monitor the oil pollution with reflective pulsed terahertz system is demonstrated. A cup of water covered by a layer of sesame oil is analyzed by the reflection terahertz imaging technology for simulating oil pollution monitoring. The optical thickness of sesame oil is accurately calculated using the reflective terahertz pulses and the diffuse areas of sesame oil with different densities are clearly determined by two-dimensional transverse reflection terahertz images. The application of reflective pulsed terahertz imaging is extended to the oil detection in water pollution monitoring.

Utilization of fuzzy techniques in intelligent sensors

Today, several advanced transducer device and emerging signal processing technologies are combined to establish the important area of so called ‘intelligent sensors’. They offer new or improved operational and processing capabilities. However, as modern technical systems get more and more complex with increasing requirements on system reliability and availability, appropriate systemarchitectures have to be designed, which will have strong impacts on kind and quality of signal processing tasks to be performed by intelligent sensors. Regarding this back-ground motivation, this paper will provide to practitions some hints and explanations for processing uncertain information by utilizing basic fuzzy set theory. The proposed applications include uncertainty propagation, self-calibration, human-machine-interfaces, and semantic classification in fuzzy combinatorial networks. The presentation emphasis on the relation between practical issues and appropriate modeling and processing of information with fuzzy techniques. The industrial application to an intelligent sensor for detection of oil pollution in water is described.

Identifying oil pollution in water by synchronous excitation

Identifying oil pollution in water by synchronous excitation

Recommendation 847 (1978) (1) on European action to prevent oil pollution of waters and coasts

Recommendation 847 (1978) (1) on European action to prevent oil pollution of waters and coasts

Application of capillary gas chromatography in the analysis of hydrocarbons in the environment

Hydrocarbons are emitted into the environment in quantity and diversity. Some of these can be detrimental in low concentration, many can be active in photochemical smog production. For combatment there is also interest in the sources of hydrocarbons in the atmosphere. For source recognition fine-structured chromatographic fingerprints are essential. This also holds for oil pollution. A complicating factor in the determination of hydrocarbon pollutants may arise from the occurrence of recently biosynthesized hydrocarbons. For distinguishing between these two types the application of capillary gas chromatography is preferred to packed column gc. It will be clear that the application of capillary gc in the analysis of hydrocarbons in the environment is of great practical value. The modified Grob method used by us for the analysis of hydrocarbons in air is discussed. For the characterization and source recognition of oil pollution in water and soil application of capillary gc fingerprinting is essential; in this way valuable information can be gathered about weathering of oil pollution. Sources of oil pollution in water areas and harbour regions can be traced in certain cases. Also the possibility of measurement of residence time is present. Typical examples are given.

A REVIEW OF SOME COMMONLY USED PARAMETERS FOR THE DETERMINATION OF OIL POLLUTION

ABSTRACT A state-of-the-art review is provided describing specific parameters of petroleum oils that are used by various investigators to demonstrate the presence of oil pollution in water, sediments, and biological tissues. Several representative publications are discussed with regard to the techniques used for distinguishing between petroleum hydrocarbons and organics that are of recent biological origin. The techniques include chromatographic procedures using alumina and silica gel for separating hydrocarbons from other organics, followed by instrumental methods such as gas chromatography, fluorescence spectroscopy, ultraviolet absorption spectroscopy, et al. The various oil parameters that are used to demonstrate the presence of petroleum oils are discussed, and the most effective ones are recommended. In addition, a recent study is also described in which several of the parameters were used to demonstrate the presence of oil pollution in sediments from a mangrove swamp in Puerto Rico.