Impact Of Spill Research Articles

Ultrahigh-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Advances for Biogeochemical Analysis: From Seafloor Sediments to Petroleum and Marine Oil Spills.

This Perspective explores the transformative impact of ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry (UHR-MS), particularly Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR-MS), in the characterization of complex environmental and petroleum samples. UHR-MS has significantly advanced our ability to identify molecular formulas in complex mixtures, revolutionizing the study of biogeochemical processes and organic matter evolution on wide time scales. We start by briefly reviewing the main technological advances of UHR-MS in the context of petroleum and environmental applications, highlighting some of the challenges of the technology such as quantitation and structural identification. We then showcase a selection of impactful applications published in the last 20+ years. In the field of environmental lipidomics, high-resolution analysis of lipids in sediments enables multiproxy studies and provides novel insights into past environmental conditions. UHR-MS has also facilitated the characterization of kerogen, a complex, poorly soluble mixture formed from sedimented organic matter over geological time scales, and the identification of polar compounds within its fractions. In petroleum (geo)chemistry, UHR-MS has enabled the identification of biomarkers such as petroporphyrins, asphaltenes, and high-molecular-weight naphthenic acids, shedding light on the molecular complexity of crude oil. The application of UHR-MS in oil spill science has revealed significant molecular transformations during weathering processes, such as photo-oxidation, which are crucial for assessing the environmental impact of past spills and improving the preparedness for future spills. These advancements underscore the role of this maturing analytical technology in deepening our understanding of geochemical processes and biogeochemical cycles, highlighting its potential for future research directions in organic geochemistry.

Nutrient amendments enrich microbial hydrocarbon degradation metagenomic potential in freshwater coastal wetland microcosm experiments.

The impact of oil spills in a freshwater aquatic environment can pose dire social, economic, and ecological effects on the region. An oil spill in the Laurentian Great Lakes region has the potential to affect the drinking water of more than 30 million people. The light synthetic crude oil used in this experimental microcosm study is transported through an underground pipeline crossing the waterway between two Laurentian Great Lakes. This study collected metagenomic data (experiments in triplicate) and assessed the quantity of BTEX compounds, which connected microbial degradation function to gene potential. The resulting data documented the bioremediation capabilities of native microbes in a freshwater coastal wetland. This study also provided evidence for this region that bioremediation can be a viable remediation strategy instead of invasive physical methods.

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF SORBENTS BASED ON NATURAL MATERIALS FOR CLEANING OIL-POLLUTED SOILS IN THE KOLA NORTH

The article presents the results of using sorbents based on natural materials as soil reclamation agents in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation to reduce the negative impact of oil and oil product spills. It has been established that the most effective are composite sorbents based on sphagnum moss and peat in various combinations with excess activated sludge. The effectiveness of sorbents based on natural materials is compared with the commercial sorbent OilSorb. High dynamics of reducing the content of oil products in the first days in soil samples with the addition of composite sorbents, including natural sorption material and activated sludge, is noted.

Occurrence, characterization, and ecological risk analysis of petroleum hydrocarbons in water and sediments following large-scale field simulated oil spills at the experimental lakes area, Northwestern Ontario, Canada

This study assessed the impact of on-site field-simulated oil spills at the International Institute for Sustainable Development-Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA) on a freshwater boreal lake. Low total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) values were obtained in water and sediments from the locations without direct oil loading across the 6-year monitoring program. Biogenic n-alkanes and pyrogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were predominant pre- and post-spill. No petroleum biomarkers were detected in the water, but trace levels appeared in a few sediments. Most TPH and PAH levels were within acceptable limits set by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) and Ontario regulations, though some PAHs exceeded guidelines. However, the frequency of exceedances did not change significantly before and after the spill. These results suggest that the spilled oil was contained effectively during the experiment period, and the environment recovered to near-background levels afterward with appropriate precautions and remediation operations.

Tailored nanofibrous polyimide-based membranes for highly effective oil spill cleanup in marine ecosystems

Oil spills pose significant environmental threats to marine ecosystems and indirectly affect human health. They are often caused by tanker accidents and pipeline leaks. The persistence of hydrocarbons in the marine environment and their long-term ecological impacts necessitate efficient remediation strategies. Nanofibrous membranes made from polyimides with varying hydrophobicity present a promising solution for oil spill cleanup and oil/water separation. In this study, electrospun nanofibrous membranes were fabricated using 4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride (6FDA) combined with 3,5-diamino-2,4,6-trimethylbenzenesulfonic acid (TrMSA) and 2,3,5,6- tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine (TMPD) to produce bead-free nanofibers at optimized concentrations. These membranes exhibited hydrophobic characteristics and high oil absorption capabilities. The 6FDA-TMPD membrane achieved a maximum adsorption capacity of 76.50 ± 7.32 g g−1 for Varinca crude oil, while the 6FDA-TrMSA membrane reached 80.05 ± 6.60 g g−1. In comparison, the commercial 3M™ oil sorbent had a significantly lower capacity of 29.4 ± 3.8 g g−1 for the same oil. The nanofibrous membranes also demonstrated superior performance in adsorbing gasoline and diesel and maintained their effectiveness across multiple cycles, highlighting their potential to mitigate the environmental impact of oil spills.

Perceived Impact of Oil Spill on Cassava Production in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria

Perceived Impact of Oil Spill on Cassava Production in Oguta Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria

Co-occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals in various environmental matrices of a chronic petroleum polluted region in Iran; Pollution characterization, and assessment of ecological and human health risks

Oil spills from pipeline accidents can result in long-lasting health effect in the people living in a ‎polluted region‎. In this study, the level of the 16 US EPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs‎) and heavy metals (HMs) have been ‎analyzed in environmental matrices of a region with frequent oil ‎pipeline accidents in Iran‎.‎ The results showed that the mean ‎concentration of ΣPAHs and ΣHMs decreased from the upstream to the downstream and also the levels were ‎higher in the wet season than those in the dry season. The average concentration of HMs in sediments was higher than that in other ‎environments. The 3-ring and 4-ring PAHs were dominant in all of the studied matrices with the average values of 32.61 % and 45.85 %, respectively. The ecological risks of PAHs and HMs were medium and high in all matrices, respectively. In wet season, the total cancer risk (TCR) related to PAHs in agricultural soil was greater than 10−4, whereas it’s very close to the threshold for HMs in water. This study offers a reference for assessing the long-term impact of oil spills in contaminated environmental matrices. The results are crucial for developing effective strategies to mitigate oil pollution ‎impacts and protect environmental and public health.

Marine Ecological Damage Assessment Model for Offshore Oil Extraction

<p>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.</p>

Understanding the impact of marine oil spill on corporate performance for improving oil spill claims system

Marine oil spill disasters occur frequently and have serious economic impacts on coastal activities. Taking the Penglai 19–3 oil spill (PL 19–3 oil spill) event as an example, this paper employs a difference-in-difference estimation method to examine the impact of marine oil spill on corporate performance. The main results show that the PL19–3 oil spill reduces the net revenue of marine enterprises relying on the Bohai Sea and coastal resources, as high as 102.8 %. In the aftermath of the PL19–3 oil spill, there was a fluctuating and increasing trend of the negative impacts on the net profits of marine companies, indicating the long-term persistence of negative impacts. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis reveals that the marine secondary industry is more likely to be affected by the PL19–3 oil spill than the marine primary and tertiary industries. The marine tertiary industry is the least affected. Oil spill disasters are also found to reveal great influences on non-state-owned and young enterprises. This study provides a reference for improving the scope of oil spill claimants and is conducive to further improving the mechanism for claiming compensation for damage caused by marine oil spills.

Thallium spill shifts the structural and functional characteristics of viral communities with different lifestyles in river sediments

Thallium (Tl), a highly toxic heavy metal, can affect microbial community, while little is known about its effect on viral community. The present study investigated the variation of viral communities, as well as their interactions with microbial hosts under Tl stress. Tl in sediments significantly altered the composition and diversity of the viral communities, but showed no significant links with the prokaryotic communities, which may reveal a potential discrepancy in the sensitivity of the viral and prokaryotic communities to heavy metal stress. Auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) involved in denitrification, methane oxidation and organic sulfur transformation were enriched at T1-contaminated sites, while the abundance of AMGs related to methanogenesis and sulfate reduction were higher at pristine sites. Specially, the enrichment of AMGs involved in assimilatory sulfate reduction in Tl-contaminated sites could possibly reduce Tl bioavailability by enhancing the microbially-driven sulfur cycling to generate sulfides that could be complexed with Tl. Moreover, there was a significantly positive correlation between virus-carrying metal resistant genes and the sedimentary Tl concentration, implying that Tl contamination might enhance the metal resistant potential of the viruses. Serving as the functional gene reservoir, the response of viral AMGs to Tl stress could represent a potential pathway for microorganisms to be adapted to the metal-polluted environments. Our study provided novel insights into the impact of Tl spill on viral communities, shedding light on functional characteristics and the links of virus-host interaction with Tl level.

Nomograph derivation for underwater sour gas releases in shallow waters based on computational fluid dynamics simulations

Ruptured underwater pipelines releasing sour gas (i.e., natural gas with high concentrations of H2S) pose significant threats to environmental safety due to their toxic and contaminative properties. This study suggests a transient Eulerian-Eulerian multiphase computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for assessing the environmental impact of sour gas releases in shallow, ecologically sensitive waters. Employing the Realizable k-ε turbulence model and additional bubble plume mechanisms, the model was rigorously validated against well-documented experimental data, showing high levels of agreement across multiple metrics. Key environmental safety parameters—such as rise time and H2S surface gas concentration, indicative of toxic exposure risk to aquatic life and human health—were extracted for multiple release scenarios. To present generalized and easily accessible data, these parameters were nondimensionalized and incorporated into a nomograph, enabling environmental risk assessments to be conducted four orders of magnitude faster than with high-fidelity simulations. The study emphasizes the nomograph's utility in rapid, environmentally relevant risk assessment and emergency planning for mitigating the impact of sour gas spills. An error and sensitivity analysis revealed uncertainties of ±7 % for rise time and ±58 % for surface gas concentration, pinpointing avenues for future research.

Mitigating the Impact of Oil Spills in the Sea with Responsive Strategies and Ecosystem Recovery

Mitigating the Impact of Oil Spills in the Sea with Responsive Strategies and Ecosystem Recovery

Geospatial Assessment of Oil Spill’s Impact in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area Rivers State, Nigeria

Environmental degradation resulting from oil spills has emerged as a critical issue requiring immediate attention. This study uses geospatial techniques to investigate the impact of oil spills in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. Landsat images, administrative map of the study area and historical oil spill data were data used in carrying out this study. The images were pre-processed through atmospheric and geometric corrections. Spatial analysis of four remote sensing indices-Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for assessing vegetation health, Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) for detecting water bodies, Land Surface Temperature (LST) for measuring surface temperature, and Normalized Difference Built-Up Index (NDBI) for identifying built-up areas-was conducted using the raster calculator in ArcGIS. The study employed the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to assign weights to these indices based their relative significance regarding oil spill impact. Subsequently, reclassification and integration of this information were done to generate Oil Spill Index (OSI) maps for 2003, 2013, and 2023. Validation of the Oil Spill Index (OSI) of various points before and after an oil spill incident was performed, specifically contrasting 2003 with 2013 and 2023 OSI values. This was to affirm the accuracy and predictive capability of the OSI maps in identifying oil spill-prone areas. Findings revealed OSI values for 2003 and 2013, indicating a range of 1.04 to 3.48 for 2003, with a noticeable increase observed in 2013, expanding the range to 3.08 to 4.72. Similarly, a comparison of OSI values between 2003 and 2023 indicates OSI values, ranging from 1.64 to 3.92 in 2003, then in 2023 after the oil spill incidents, there were notable changes in the OSI values, with the range shifting to 3.2 to 4.84. This suggests a significant increase in the impact of oil spill on the affected areas over the two-decade. This comprehensive index map serves as a tool for monitoring and assessing the effects of oil spills on the study area, thereby achieving the research objectives effectively.

OptimalNN: A Neural Network Architecture to Monitor Chemical Contamination in Cancer Alley

The detrimental impact of toxic chemicals, gas, and oil spills in aquatic environments poses a severe threat to plants, animals, and human life. Regions such as Cancer Alley exemplify the profound consequences of inadequately controlled chemical spills, significantly affecting the local community. Given the far-reaching effects of these spills, it has become imperative to devise an efficient method for early monitoring, estimation, and cleanup, utilizing affordable and effective techniques. In this research, we explore the application of U-shaped neural Network (UNET) and U-shaped neural network transformer (UNETR) neural network models designed for the image segmentation of chemical and oil spills. Our models undergo training using the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) dataset and the Oil Spill Detection dataset, employing a specialized filtering technique to enhance detection accuracy. We achieved training accuracies of 95.35% and 91% by applying UNET on the Oil Spill and the CSIRO datasets after 50 epochs of training, respectively. We also achieved a training accuracy of 75% by applying UNETR to the Oil Spill dataset. Additionally, we integrated mixed precision to expedite the model training process, thus maximizing data throughput. To further accelerate our implementation, we propose the utilization of the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) architecture. The results obtained from our study demonstrate improvements in inference latency on FPGA.

Single and multiphase flow leak detection in onshore/offshore pipelines and subsurface sequestration sites: An overview

Leaks may occur in existing pipelines, even when designed with quality construction and appropriate regulations. The economic impact of oil spills and natural gas dispersion from leaks can be huge. Failure to detect pipeline leaks promptly will have an adverse impact on life, the economy, the environment, and corporate reputation. Therefore, early detection of leaks, their location, and their size with high sensitivity and reliability are important for efficient hydrocarbon transportation through a pipeline, both in onshore and offshore applications. Although several studies have been conducted on leak detection using various techniques, recent literature that comprehensively investigates and summarizes the different multiphase leak detection techniques could not be found. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive review of the different leak detection techniques in pipelines, wellbores, and subsurface sequestration wells. This is done by studying the different multiphase flow leak detection techniques using various Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), Mechanistic, Machine Learning models, and digital twin techniques in the pipeline as well as in sub-surface sequestration sites. A comprehensive investigation revealed that a few studies have been conducted related to integrated multiphase flow leak experiments, computational fluid dynamics, mechanistic models, and implementing extended real-time transient monitoring using machine learning. This type of systematic investigation is deemed to be more useful for field applications. Furthermore, a new set of recommendations is provided in the last section which shows how experimental, mechanistic, and CFD simulation data can be used to drive a statistical approach based on modern deep learning and digital twin techniques. This allows for the precise understanding of the leak events such as size, location, and orientation of the leak, without sending a remotely operated underwater vehicle or aircraft to scan the whole pipeline and ocean.

Immobilization of lipase enzyme extracted from thermophilic Bacillus licheniformis 14T local isolate

Background: Currently, lipase enzymes are considered important bio-catalysts in many industries due to their unique properties in catalyzing various types of reactions in aqueous solutions. By targeting hydrocarbons in the oil, lipase enzymes contribute to the breakdown of hydrocarbons, reducing the environmental impact of oil spills and facilitating the remediation of contaminated areas.Methods: A thermostable lipase from local isolate Bacillus licheniformis 14T has been immobilized on four different supports that include the inactivated chitosan beads, activated chitosan beads with glutaraldehyde, inactivated chitosan-alginate beads, and activated chitosan-alginate beads with glutaraldehyde.Results The purified free lipase enzyme exhibited the highest enzymatic activity at 34.6 units/ml, surpassing all immobilized enzymes. Specific activity increased to 96.25 and 79.03 unit/mg protein for activated chitosan beads and activated chitosan-alginate beads, while decreasing to 52.95 and 46.05 unit/mg protein for inactivated chitosan beads and inactivated chitosan-alginate beads compared to the free enzyme. Optimal conditions for the immobilized enzyme differed, with the highest enzyme activity achieved after 60 minutes at 60°C and pH 8, reaching 48.6, 70.23, 43.12, and 61.2 units/ml on various supports, contrasting with the free enzyme's peak activity after 30 minutes at 50°C and pH 7.Conclusions: Immobilizing the lipase enzyme increases the specific activity of the immobilized enzyme on the supports of activated chitosan beads with, also the immobilization process led to a change in the optimal conditions for the activity of the immobilized enzyme compared with the optimal conditions of free enzyme.Keywords: Lipase; Bacillus licheniformis; Immobilization; Chitosan; Alginate

Influence of heavy Canadian crude oil on pristine freshwater boreal lake ecosystems in an experimental oil spill.

The overall impact of a crude oil spill into a pristine freshwater environment in Canada is largely unknown. To evaluate the impact on the native microbial community, a large-scale in situ model experimental spill was conducted to assess the potential role of the natural community to attenuate hydrocarbons. A small volume of conventional heavy crude oil (CHV) was introduced within contained mesocosm enclosures deployed on the shoreline of a freshwater lake. The oil was left to interact with the shoreline for 72h and then free-floating oil was recovered using common oil spill response methods (i.e. freshwater flushing and capture on oleophilic absorptive media). Residual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations returned to near preoiling concentrations within 2 months, while the microbial community composition across the water, soil, and sediment matrices of the enclosed oligotrophic freshwater ecosystems did not shift significantly over this period. Metagenomic analysis revealed key polycyclic aromatic and alkane degradation mechanisms also did not change in their relative abundance over the monitoring period. These trends suggest that for small spills (<2l of oil per 15 m2 of surface freshwater), physical oil recovery reduces polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations to levels tolerated by the native microbial community. Additionally, the native microbial community present in the monitored pristine freshwater ecosystem possesses the appropriate hydrocarbon degradation mechanisms without prior challenge by hydrocarbon substrates. This study corroborated trends found previously (Kharey et al. 2024) toward freshwater hydrocarbon degradation in an environmentally relevant scale and conditions on the tolerance of residual hydrocarbons in situ.

Long-Term Monitoring of Oil Spill Impacted Vegetation in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria: A Google Earth Engine Derived Vegetation Indices Approach

New and emerging cases of oil spill incidents are reported almost on a weekly basis in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria with accusations and counter-accusations as to the claims made by interested parties on perceived impacts of the spills on the environment and its associated constituents. This study applied the capabilities offered by the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform to monitor long-term vegetation dynamics as a result of exposure to pollution emanating from crude oil spills in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The capabilities offered by GEE provide a platform for rapid access to big data for the assessment of environmental change, especially in the Niger Delta with its difficult terrain and security concerns. This study considered oil spill incidents in vegetated terrestrial locations in the Niger Delta across ten years. Fifteen locations spread across the region with oil spill incidents identified as large incidents being selected (&gt;50 &lt;5000bbl). Results of the statistical analysis performed on the vegetation indices data generated from GEE suggest that the analysis of long-term vegetation indices using GEE can provide a broad view of the impact of oil spills on vegetation over time if the spills are relatively large or the spills are repetitive. However, when the spills were relatively small, there was no statistically significant variation in the spectral signatures of the vegetation over time. This suggests that for large spills, GEE-derived vegetation indices can be a very useful synoptic tool in monitoring oil spill occurrence and impact on vegetated terrestrial environments in the Niger Delta and elsewhere where environmental accessibility is a challenge.

Assessment of the Impact of Crude Oil Spillage on Surface Water and Aquatic life in some Selected Oil Producing Communities in Delta State, Nigeria

The study assessed the impact of oil spill on surface and aquatic life in some selected oil producing communities of Delta state. A survey and experimental design was adopted for the study. The data for the study were derived from surface water samples, as well as questionnaire responses. samples were collected from six (6) oil producing communities of Tebu, Tisun, Okpail, Emedadja, Ote-Do, and Okpare respectively and taken to the laboratory for analysis. Samples were collected using purposive and systematic techniques. Total of (200) copies of questionnaire were administered to the selected communities and analyzed using simple percentages and presented in charts and tables. The study find out that the major causes of oil spillage package are: pipeline linkages, well blow out, accidents during and after drilling operation, sabotage, explosions of oil terminals and wells, spills from vandalized oil pipelines and linkages, spill from loading oil vessels. It is concluded that the significant deterioration in both surface and aquatic life due to oil extraction. Therefore, the use of such waters for drinking and domestic purposes may pose a threat to the health of the users. Thus, there is need for the intervention by government agencies while simple physical treatment of pollutants is recommended.

Effect of Gas Flaring on Human Well-Being and Environment in Obodo-Ugwa, Ndokwa West, Local Government Area, Delta State, Nigeria

This study investigates the effect of gas flaring on human wellbeing and environment in Obodo-ugwa, Ndokwa West LGA, Delta State. The study used primary and secondary source of data. Water samples from wells, river and boreholes and soil samples were collected and analyzed using standard procedure. Landsat images for the years 2003, 2013 and 2023 were obtained from United States Geological Survey (USGS) online resources to assess the impact of oil spill on biodiversity (vegetation) using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) in ARCGIS 10.6. The study administered 232 copies of questionnaires to compliment the data. The result of the findings revealed that the mean surface water (river) turbidity 16.00 NTU was 11.5% above the NSDWQ standard of 5.0., while the DO was 3.3% higher than the NSDWQ standard. The Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) for Well water (A and B), borehole, and the river water were 9.8mg/L (96%), 9.9mg/L (98%), 7.7mg/L (54%) and 10.2mg/L (104%) higher than the Nigeria Standard for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) and World Health Organization (WHO) Standard. For Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), all water sources were above both the WHODWQ and NSDWQ. The soil analysis revealed manganese 4.53mg/kg (7.60%) above the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) limits of 4.21kg/kg, copper 7.60mg/kg (111.11%) above the 3.60mg/kg FAO limit. The NDVI result shows 80% deterioration vegetation health including farm land as only patches of healthy vegetation on the periphery as evident from 2003, 2013 and 2023 where the highest greenness index ranged from 0.26 to 0.34 in 2023, indicating that over the period of study, the forest in these areas have been degraded to mere shrubs. The study recommend that the Federal Government should enforce existing laws and provide alternative energy source to mitigate the effect of gas flaring on the people and salvage the environment.