Oil Spills In Seawater Research Articles

On-Line Monitoring of Minor Oil Spills in Seawater Using Sediment Microbial Fuel Cells: A Preliminary Study

In recent years microbial fuel cells have been studied for their biosensing properties. Consequently, sediment microbial fuel cells (sMFCs) have been found to be able to detect minor oil spills in freshwater. However, it was previously unknown whether sMFC properties as a biosensor would be able to produce the same results in a saltwater environment. Therefore, sMFCs at various external resistances (220 Ω, 300 Ω, 430 Ω, 510 Ω, 1000 Ω and 2000 Ω) were assembled to assess their ability to detect oil in seawater. The results indicated that an ER of 1k Ω is optimal for sMFC power generation, and that as oil was added to the cathode of the sMFCs, there was a clear and gradual decrease in the voltage output due to the oil’s interference with oxygen dissolvability in seawater; However, the relationship between the change in voltage and change in time was less linear than the change observed in previous studies, and inconsistent across the different voltages. The variation observed may be due to the absence of a catalyst, such as platinum, which would have sped up the rate of the decrease in voltage. This study illustrates that sMFCs provide a cost effective and environmentally friendly method to detect minor oil spills in seawater.

On-Line Monitoring of Minor Oil Spills in Seawater Using Sediment Microbial Fuel Cells: A Preliminary Study

In recent years microbial fuel cells have been studied for their biosensing properties. Consequently, sediment microbial fuel cells (sMFCs) have been found to be able to detect minor oil spills in freshwater. However, it was previously unknown whether sMFC properties as a biosensor would be able to produce the same results in a saltwater environment. Therefore, sMFCs at various external resistances (220 Ω, 300 Ω, 430 Ω, 510 Ω, 1000 Ω and 2000 Ω) were assembled to assess their ability to detect oil in seawater. The results indicated that as oil was added to the cathode of the microbial fuel cells, there was a clear and gradual decrease in the voltage output due to the oil’s interference with oxygen dissolvability in seawater; However, the relationship between the change in voltage and change in time was less linear than the change observed in previous studies, and inconsistent across the different voltages. The variation observed may be due to the absence of a catalyst, such as platinum, which would have sped up the rate of the decrease in voltage. This study illustrates that sediment microbial fuel cells provide a cost effective and environmentally friendly method to detect minor oil spills in seawater.

A sustainable approach to oil spill cleanup by kapok and waste cotton needle punched nonwoven blends

Natural materials that can absorb a large amount of oil have recently received a lot of interest as sorbents to clean up oil spills in seawater. In this work, kapok fibre was blended with different proportions of cotton fibres obtained as blow room waste from the textile industry to prepare nonwovens using carding and needle-punching techniques. The potential for oil sorption, oil retention, and water sorption of kapok/waste cotton nonwovens was investigated. FTIR, SEM, and surface contact angle of the fibres were determined since oil sorption depends on the fibres' physical and chemical properties. The effect of waste cotton and kapok fibre blend ratio on oil sorption and oil retention behaviour of kapok/cotton nonwoven was studied. The maximum oil sorption capacity of blended nonwoven (90/10, kapok/cotton) with areal density (150 GSM or g/m 2 ) was 45.36 g/g, 43.97 g/g, and 39.92 g/g for engine oil, vegetable oil, and diesel oil, respectively. Reusability test results suggest that after ten cycles, the oil absorbency of 150K/C 90/10 was 42.55 g/g, 40.61 g/g, and 36.45 g/g against engine oil, vegetable oil, and diesel oil, respectively. A comparison of the oil sorption capacity of kapok/waste cotton blends with other synthetic (Polypropylene) sorbents was also presented. According to our findings, kapok/waste cotton nonwovens could become an important sorbent for oil spill clean-up. • Sustainable oil sorbent was made from blends of kapok and waste cotton fibres. • The oil-to-pore volume occupied by fibre was explored for oil sorption capacity. • After ten cycles, K/C blend sorbents retained 76 % of engine oil. • The sorbents can be used as biofuel even after 10th cycle.

Efficient photocatalytic degradation of petroleum oil spills in seawater using a metal-organic framework (MOF)

Photocatalysis is a green approach that has appeared to be a viable option for the degradation of a variety of organic contaminants. This work outlines the process of preparing the titanium-based metal-organic framework (MIL-125) photocatalysts using a simple solvothermal method. Structural, morphological, and optical analysis of samples (MT18 and MT48) was carried out by XRD, FT-IR, Raman, SEM, TGA, BET, and UV–Vis. Results indicated that the sample prepared at 150 °C and reaction time of 48 h (MT48) has a low crystal size of 7 nm with an optical band gap of 3.2 eV and a surface area of 301 m2 g−1. Under UV–visible light irradiation, the as-prepared MOFs proved to upgrade photocatalytic activity in degrading crude oil spills in saltwater. Effects of catalyst dosage and exposure time on the degradation of an oil spill in seawater were studied and analyzed using UV–Vis spectrophotometry and gas chromatography (GC–MS) which emphasized that the use of 250 ppm of MT48 photocatalyst under UV–Vis irradiation can degrade about 99% of oil spills in water after 2 h of exposure. The study's data revealed that MIL-125 could be used to photocatalyzed the cleanup of crude oil spills.

In Situ Sensor for the Detection of Oil Spill in Seawater Using Microwave Techniques.

Nearly 30% of oil drilled globally is done offshore. Oil spillage offshore has far-reaching consequences on the environment, aquatic lives, and livelihoods as it was evident in the Deepwater Horizon and Bonga oil spills. A novel microwave in situ oil spill sensor was developed in this work. The device is comprised of two polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-encapsulated ultra-wideband underwater microwave trefoil antennas enclosed in a Faraday cage with one serving as the receiving antenna and the other as the transmitting antenna. Heavy aromatic-naphthenic Azeri crude oil was used as an inclusion in the seawater host medium. Substantial changes in the measured reflection (S11) and transmission (S21) coefficients were observed as the medium was adulterated with crude oil starting from 200 MHz to around 2500 MHz. The changes in the dielectric properties of the media resulted in changes in both the S11 and S21 signifying and detecting an occurrence of the oil spillage. Thus, by employing radio frequencies, oil spillage was detected using the in situ monitoring device in seawater.

Use of statistical modeling for BTEX prediction in cases of crude oil spill in seawater

ABSTRACT Cases of oil spillage and leakage in marine environments are increasing, and generating a need to quickly assess the presence of these contaminants in seawater. This work aims to estimate the concentrations of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes (BTEX) dissolved in seawater in cases of oil spillage using experimental factorial planning. The study factors were oil °API and oil/seawater contact time after spillage. The models obtained were able to satisfactorily estimate BTEX concentrations, with accuracy greater than 99.3% within the ranges studied, with R² correlation coefficients ranging from 0.992 to 0.997. The models presented forecast efficiency higher than 88%, with low relative errors, ranging from 0.1% to 12%. The concentrations of benzene dissolved in seawater found experimentally with only one hour of spillage, for the two types of oils studied, were higher than allowed by Brazilian legislation, demonstrating real environmental risk in cases of spillage of these types of oil into the sea. These results can corroborate the development of a risk assessment in oil spills within the studied ranges and serve as a useful analytical tool for emergencies.

Bioremediation of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) by Bioaugmentation and Biostimulation in Water with Floating Oil Spill Containment Booms as Bioreactor Basin.

A crude oil spill is a common issue during offshore oil drilling, transport and transfer to onshore. Second, the production of petroleum refinery effluent is known to cause pollution due to its toxic effluent discharge. Sea habitats and onshore soil biota are affected by total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) as a pollutant in their natural environment. Crude oil pollution in seawater, estuaries and beaches requires an efficient process of cleaning. To remove crude oil pollutants from seawater, various physicochemical and biological treatment methods have been applied worldwide. A biological treatment method using bacteria, fungi and algae has recently gained a lot of attention due to its efficiency and lower cost. This review introduces various studies related to the bioremediation of crude oil, TPH and related petroleum products by bioaugmentation and biostimulation or both together. Bioremediation studies mentioned in this paper can be used for treatment such as emulsified residual spilled oil in seawater with floating oil spill containment booms as an enclosed basin such as a bioreactor, for petroleum hydrocarbons as a pollutant that will help environmental researchers solve these problems and completely clean-up oil spills in seawater.

Study fate of pollutants due to oil spill in sea water through multimedia environmental modeling

Due to massive shipment of oil across the border, spill disaster occurs which results in release of pollutants posing both short- and long-term threats to ambient environment. In this paper, an integrated oil spill multimedia model framework is conceptualized which comprises Fugacity and Hydrocarbon Spill Screen Model. The aim of the model development is to predict the fate and transport mechanism of oil spill-based pollutants across multimedia i.e., water, air, sediments, and aquatic biota. Hydrocarbon spill screen model is used to identify mass flux and predict concentration of pollutants in receptor medium i.e., in surface water. Whereas, fugacity level I model is applied to determine multiphase transfer rates of contaminants from one medium to another. The developed framework is applied to a case study to explore the feasibility of a model. Three different poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (naphthalene, benzene, and toluene) are considered for model simulation. The results from modeling study reveal that 30,000 tons of crude oil spillage contribute 58% release of naphthalene pollutant in receiving water body. Whereas, other two constituents i.e., benzene and toluene are abundantly present in air phase contributing 83% and 85% release in air, respectively. Overall, naphthalene remained persistent in environment for around 7 years, polluting most of bottom sediments through advection phenomena and by bio-accumulating in aquatic species. Thus, the model provides useful outcomes to analyze the fate of pollutants released in environment because of spillage and help to select remediation method for spills incidents in time.

Reflection-coefficient experimental extraction from S21- parameter for radar oil-spill detection application

Oil spill in sea water is one of the main accidents that affect significantly the maritime environment over a long period of time. Knowing the severe influence of oil spills on the ecosystem, it is crucial to have oil spill detecting and monitoring systems for quick intervention and danger containment. In our project, we propose the usage of drones as an oil spill detection system. The drones will be implementing different previously developed multi-frequency approaches for the detection. The effectiveness of such techniques is based on the accuracy of the data collected and their match to the theory. This journal presents a method for the remote extraction of reflection coefficients from multilayer structure modeling an oil spill in sea water. The experimental results for the reflectivity extraction validate the theoretical calculations and allow the implementation of different algorithms based on the statistical information taken directly from the site.

Fabrication of Superhydrophobic-Superoleophilic Cement-Coated Meshes and Their Applications for Oil/Water Separation

Extreme wettability materials have shown great ability in dealing with oily industrial wastewater emission and oil spill accidents. Whenas, most of the addressed materials are technically sophisticated or inclined to involve corrosive or toxic chemicals. Herein, we fabricated an easy fabricated, low cost and robust material for oil/water separation. The superhydrophobic-superoleophilic (SOO) cement-coated meshes were made simply by dipping copper mesh in cement paste and surface modification. The micro/nanostructure and low surface energy endowed the mesh with great superhydrophobicity and superoleophilicity in air. The mesh had great oil absorption ability and high separation efficiencies for various oils. They were also admirably recyclable and durable. The meshes could be used to separate oil/water mixture at least for 20 cycles with high separation efficiency, and showed respectable superhydrobocity after being bent for 30 times. This simply fabricated, low cost and robust material will have great potential to be used in industrial wastewater treatment and oil spill in seawater.

Production and Application of Gordonia westfalica GY40 Biosurfactant for Remediation of Fuel Oil Spill

This study aims to produce and apply a biosurfactant from Gordonia westfalica GY40 for enhancing fuel oil solubilization and degradation in seawater. The immobilization of G. westfalica GY40 cells on chitosan flakes increased biosurfactant yield, and we achieved a biosurfactant concentration as high as 1.85 g L−1 when using 2 % soybean oil as the carbon source. The critical micelle dilution (CMD) value of cell-free broth was 25 % and the lowest surface tension was 35 mN m−1. The cell-free broth was able to solubilize and disperse fuel oil, at efficiencies corresponding to biosurfactant concentrations and CMD values. The surface activity of cell-free broth was stable under wide ranges of salinity, temperature, and pH. For the oil degradation test, cell-free broth at 0.5× CMD was added along with polyurethane foam-immobilized Gordonia sp. JC11, an efficient oil-degrading bacterial inoculum, to fuel oil spiked seawater. The system removed 81 % of 1 g L−1 fuel oil in nutrient seawater medium within 6 days. When tested with three seawater samples collected along the Thai coastal area, the addition of both biosurfactant and immobilized Gordonia sp. JC11 was able to remove 60–70 % of 1 g L−1 fuel oil, while the natural attenuation (control) removed only 26–35 % of fuel oil. The application of cell-free broth reduced the extraction and purification steps. In addition, the simple production of G. westfalica GY40 biosurfactant and Gordonia sp. JC11 inoculum suggested that they are suitable for cleaning-up oil spills in seawater.

Effect of Highly Pressurized Dispersion Arc Nozzle on Breakup of Oil Leakage in Offshore

The most important problem occurs on oil spills in sea water is to reduce the oil spills size. This study deals with the development of high pressurized nozzle using dispersion method for oil leakage in offshore. 3D numerical simulation results were obtained using ANSYS Fluent 13.0 code and correlate with the experimental data for validation. This paper studies the contribution of the process on flow speed and pressure of the flow from two different geometrical designs of nozzles and to generate a spray pattern suitable for dispersant application. Factor of size distribution of droplets generated by the nozzle is calculated using pressures ranging from 2 to 6 bars. Results obtain from both analyses shows a significant spray pattern and flow distribution as well as distance. Results also show a significant contribution on the effect of oil leakage in terms of the diameter of the oil spills break up.

Photocatalytic Degradation of Oil-emulsion in Water/Seawater Using Titanium Dioxide

Oil in water emulsion is widely used in the petroleum, petrochemical, and many other industries, besides its presence as oil spills in seawater under atmospheric circumstances. Even so, the great number of publications on photodegradation research does not introduce obvious solutions for oil-emulsion photodegradation. The present work is an attempt made to remove emulsions of oil in water and seawater via the photocatalytic oxidation process. In this communication, synthetic wastewater samples were generated by emulsifying diesel oil in distilled water or in artificial seawater to investigate the effects of: (i) initial oil concentration, (ii) catalyst concentration, (iii) irradiation time, and (iv) pH. The photocatalytic activities of three commercial TiO2 types: Degussa P25, Hombikat UV-100, and Millennium PC50 were compared with two prepared TiO2 samples using an artificial UV source. The degradation rates of oil were found to be strongly influenced by all of the above parameters. The results showed that the Degussa P25 photocatalyst and the TiO2-SG prepared one were the most active among the photocatalysts under study, both in distilled water and in artificial seawater. The photocatalytic degradation of oil-emulsion was strongly hindered in artificial seawater. Removal of 92 and 43% of oil was achieved by Degussa P25 in distilled water and in artificial seawater, respectively, after 3 h irradiation. The optimized conditions obtained with an experimental design were 2 g/L TiO2 and pH 4.5.

Discrimination of oil spills from newly formed sea ice by synthetic aperture radar

In this paper we examine the potential of multi-polarization SAR systems to detect and discriminate oil pollution from uncontaminated recently formed thin sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, where both oil and thin sea ice have similar low backscatter returns on SAR imagery. In this study, we present a theoretical model of the relative permittivity of oil-in-sea-ice mixtures and apply it to determine the effect of dielectric properties on the co-polarized backscatter ratio for sea ice, ocean, and oil. To support the theoretical discussion, we investigate available multi-polarization and multi-frequency SAR measurements. We compare SAR data collected over oil spills in seawater in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea with available similar data covering sea ice in the Arctic region. The results suggest that multi-polarization SAR systems will be useful to detect Arctic oil spills should a spill occur in new and young sea ice conditions, particularly in the marginal ice zones adjacent to the main polar ice pack.

The impact of different vertical diffusion schemes in a three-dimensional oil spill model in the Bohai Sea

Vertical transport is critical to the movement of oil spills in seawater. Breaking waves play an important role by developing a well-defined mixing layer in the upper part of the water column. A three-dimensional (3-D) Lagrangian random walk oil spill model was used here to study the influence of sea surface waves on the vertical turbulence movement of oil particles. Three vertical diffusion schemes were utilized in the model to compare their impact on oil dispersion and transportation. The first scheme calculated the vertical eddy viscosity semi-empirically. In the second scheme, the vertical diffusion coefficient was obtained directly from an Eulerian hydrodynamic model (Princeton Ocean Model, POM2k) while considering wave-caused turbulence. The third scheme was formulated by solving the Langevin equation. The trajectories, percentages of oil particles intruding into water, and the vertical distribution structures of oil particles were analyzed for a series of numerical experiments with different wind magnitudes. The results showed that the different vertical diffusion schemes could generate different horizontal trajectories and spatial distributions of oil spills on the sea surface. The vertical diffusion schemes caused different water-intruding and resurfacing oil particle behaviors, leading to different horizontal transport of oil particles at the surface and subsurface of the ocean. The vertical diffusion schemes were also applied to a realistic oil spill simulation, and these results were compared to satellite observations. All three schemes yielded acceptable results, and those of the third scheme most closely simulated the observed data.

Whole cell bioreporter application for rapid detection and evaluation of crude oil spill in seawater caused by Dalian oil tank explosion

Accidents involving the release of crude oil to seawater pose serious threat to human and animal health, fisheries and marine ecosystems. A whole cell bioreporter detection method, which has unique advantages for the rapid evaluation on toxicity and bioavailability, is a useful tool to provide environmental risk assessments at crude oil-contaminated sites. Acinetobacter baylyi ADPWH_alk and ADPWH_recA are chromosomally-based alkane and genotoxicity bioreporters which can be activated to express bioluminescence in the presence of alkanes and genotoxic compounds. In this study, we applied Acinetobacter ADPWH_alk and ADPWH_recA bioreporters to examine six seawater and six sediment samples around the Dalian Bay four weeks after an oil tank explosion in Dalian, China in 2010, and compared the results with samples from the same sites one year after. The results of bioreporter detection suggest that seawater and sediments from five sites (DB, NT, JSB, XHP and FJZ) four weeks after the oil-spill were contaminated by the crude oil with various extents of genotoxicity. Among these six sites, DB and NT had high oil contents and genotoxicity, and JSB had high oil content but low genotoxicity in comparison with an uncontaminated site LSF, which is located at other side of the peninsula. These three sites (DB, NT and JSB) with detectable genotoxicity are within 30 km away from the oil spill point. The far-away two sites XHP (38.1 km) and FJZ (31.1 km) were lightly contaminated with oil but no genotoxicity suggesting that they are around the contamination boundary. Bioreporter detection also indicates that all six sites were clean one year after the oil-spill as the alkane and genotoxicity were below detection limit. This study demonstrates that bioreporter detection can be used as a rapid method to estimate the scale of a crude oil spill accident and to evaluate bioavailability and genotoxicity of contaminated seawater and sediments, which are crucial to risk assessment and strategic decision-making for environmental management and clean-up.

Whole-cell bacterial bioreporter for actively searching and sensing of alkanes and oil spills.

SummaryAcinetobacter baylyi ADP1 was found to tolerate seawater and have a special ability of adhering to an oil–water interface of 10–80 µm emulsified mineral and crude oil droplets. These properties make ADP1 an ideal bacterial chassis for constructing bioreporters that are able to actively search and sense oil spill in water and soils. Acinetobacter baylyi bioreporter ADPWH_alk was developed and applied to the detection of alkanes and alkenes in water, seawater and soils. Bioreporter ADPWH_alk was able to detect a broad range of alkanes and alkenes with carbon chain length from C7 to C36. So far, ADPWH_alk is the only bioreporter that is able to detect alkane with carbon chain length greater than C18. This bioreporter responded to the alkanes in about 30 min and it was independent to the cell growth phase because of two point mutations in alkM promoter recognized by alkane regulatory protein ALKR. ADPWH_alk was applied to detect mineral oil, Brent, Chestnut and Sirri crude oils in water and seawater in the range 0.1–100 mg l−1, showing that the bioreporter oil detection was semi‐quantitative. This study demonstrates that ADPWH_alk is a rapid, sensitive and semi‐quantitative bioreporter that can be useful for environmental monitoring and assessment of oil spills in seawater and soils.

Effect of duration of exposure to polluted air environment on lung function in subjects exposed to crude oil spill into sea water

Oil spill in sea water represents a huge environmental disaster for marine life and humans in the vicinity. The aim was to investigate the effect of duration of exposure to polluted air environment on lung function in subjects exposed to crude oil spill into sea water. The present study was conducted under the supervision of Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during the period July 2003 - December 2004. This was a comparative study of spirometry in 31 apparently healthy, non smoking, male workers, exposed to crude oil spill environment during the oil cleaning operation. The exposed group was matched with similar number of male, non smoking control subjects. Pulmonary function test was performed by using an electronic spirometer. Subjects exposed to polluted air for periods longer than 15 days showed a significant reduction in Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in First Second (FEV1), Forced Expiratory Flow in 25-25% (FEF25-75%) and Maximal Voluntary Ventilation (MVV). Air environment polluted due to crude oil spill into sea water caused impaired lung function and this impairment was associated with dose response effect of duration of exposure to air polluted by crude oil spill into sea water.

Ecotoxicity of oil spills in seawater by the luminescent bacteria test

Ecotoxicity of oil spills in seawater by the luminescent bacteria test

Lung function in subjects exposed to crude oil spill into sea water

A Greek oil-tanker ran aground, resulting in a huge oil spill along the costal areas of Karachi, Pakistan. The purpose of this study was to assess the lung function and follow up change after one year in subjects exposed to crude oil spill in sea water. It was a cross sectional study with follow up in 20 apparently healthy, non-smoking, male workers, who were exposed to a crude oil spill environment during oil cleaning operation. The exposed group was matched with 31 apparently healthy male control subjects. Pulmonary function test was performed using an electronic Spirometer. Subjects exposed to polluted air have significant reduction in forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in first second (FEV 1), forced expiratory flow (FEF 25–75%) and maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) compared to their matched controls. This impairment was reversible and lung functions parameters were improved when the subjects were withdrawn from the polluted air environment.