Spill response (Oil spill control technologies)

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A plane releases chemical dispersant over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Credit: Reuters

Overview

A number of advanced response mechanisms are available for controlling oil spills and minimizing their impacts on human health and the environment. The key to effectively combating spills is careful selection and proper use of the equipment and materials best suited to the type of oil and the conditions at the spill site. Most spill response equipment and materials are greatly affected by such factors as conditions at sea, water currents, and wind. Damage to spill-contaminated shorelines and dangers to other threatened areas can be reduced by timely and proper use of containment and recovery equipment

Mechanical Containment

Mechanical Containment and Recoveryis the primary line of defense against oil spills in the United States. Containment and recovery equipment includes a variety of booms, barriers, and skimmers, as well as natural and synthetic sorbent materials. Mechanical containment is used to capture and store the spilled oil until it can be disposed of properly.

Booms

Containment booms are used to control the spread of oil to reduce the possibility of polluting shorelines and other resources, as well as to concentrate oil in thicker surface layers, making recovery easier. In addition, booms may be used to divert and channel oil slicks along desired paths, making them easier to remove from the surface of the water.

Booms can be divided into several basic types.

  • Fence booms have a high freeboard and a flat flotation device, making them least effective in rough water, where wave and wind action can cause the boom to twist.
  • Round or curtain booms have a more circular flotation device and a continuous skirt. They perform well in rough water, but are more difficult to clean and store than fence booms.
  • Non-rigid or inflatable booms come in many shapes. They are easy to clean and store, and they perform well in rough seas. However, they tend to be expensive, more complicated to use, and puncture and deflate easily.

All boom types are greatly affected by the conditions on the water; the higher the waves swell, the less effective booms become.

An oil containment boom is laid out in the waters of Treasure Pass near Yscloskey, La., on July 31, 2010 in response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Credit: AP Photo/Judi Bottoni

When a spill occurs and no containment equipment is available, barriers can be improvised from whatever materials are at hand. Although they are most often used as temporary measures to hold or divert oil until more sophisticated equipment arrives, improvised booms can be an effective way to deal with oil spills, particularly in calm water such as streams, slow-moving rivers, or sheltered bays and inlets. Improvised booms are made from such common materials as wood, plastic pipe, inflated fire hoses, automobile tires, and empty oil drums. They can be as simple as a board placed across the surface of a slow-moving stream, or a berm built by bulldozers pushing a wall of sand out from the beach to divert oil from a sensitive section of shoreline.

Skimmers

A skimmer is a device for recovering spilled oil from the water's surface. Skimmers may be self-propelled, used from shore, or operated from vessels. The efficiency of skimmers is highly dependent upon conditions at sea. In moderately rough or choppy water, skimmers tend to recover more water than oil. Three types of skimmers--weir, oleophilic and suction--are described here. Each type offers advantages and drawbacks depending on the type of oil being recovered, the sea conditions during cleanup efforts, and the presence of ice or debris in the water.

Weir skimmers use a dam or enclosure positioned at the oil/water interface. Oil floating on top of the water will spill over the dam and be trapped in a well inside, bringing with it as little water as possible. The trapped oil and water mixture can then be pumped out through a pipe or hose to a storage tank for recycling or disposal. These skimmers are prone to becoming jammed and clogged by floating debris.

Oleophilic ("oil-attracting") skimmers use belts, disks, or continuous mop chains of oleophilic materials to blot the oil from the water surface. The oil is then squeezed out or scraped off into a recovery tank. Oleophilic skimmers have the advantage of flexibility, allowing them to be used effectively on spills of any thickness. Some types, such as the chain or "rope-mop" skimmer, work well on water that is choked with debris or rough ice.

Suction skimmers operate similarly to a household vacuum cleaner. Oil is sucked up through wide floating heads and pumped into storage tanks. Although suction skimmers are generally very efficient, they are vulnerable to becoming clogged by debris and require constant skilled observation. Suction skimmers operate best on smooth water, where oil has collected against a boom or barrier.

Sorbents

Sorbents are insoluble materials or mixtures of materials used to recover liquids through the mechanism of absorption, or adsorption, or both. Absorbents are materials that pick up and retain liquid distributed throughout its molecular structure causing the solid to swell (50 percent or more). The absorbent must be at least 70 percent insoluble in excess fluid. Adsorbents are insoluble materials that are coated by a liquid on its surface, including pores and capillaries, without the solid swelling more than 50 percent in excess liquid. To be useful in combating oil spills, sorbents need to be both oleophilic (oil-attracting) and hydrophobic (water-repellent). Although they may be used as the sole cleanup method in small spills, sorbents are most often used to remove final traces of oil, or in areas that cannot be reached by skimmers. Sorbent materials used to recover oil must be disposed of in accordance with approved local, state, and federal regulations. Any oil that is removed from sorbent materials must also be properly disposed of or recycled.

Sorbents can be divided into three basic categories: natural organic, natural inorganic, and synthetic.

Natural organic sorbentsinclude peat moss, straw, hay, sawdust, ground corncobs, feathers, and other readily available carbon-based products. Organic sorbents can adsorb between 3 and 15 times their weight in oil, but there are disadvantages to their use. Some organic sorbents tend to adsorb water as well as oil, causing the sorbents to sink. Many organic sorbents are loose particles such as sawdust, and are difficult to collect after they are spread on the water. These problems can be counterbalanced by adding flotation devices, such as empty drums attached to sorbent bales of hay, to overcome the sinking issue, and wrapping loose particles in mesh to aid in collection.

Natural inorganic sorbentsconsist of clay, perlite, vermiculite, glass wool, sand, or volcanic ash. They can adsorb from 4 to 20 times their weight in oil. Inorganic sorbents, like organic sorbents, are inexpensive and readily available in large quantities. These types of sorbents are not used on the water's surface.

Synthetic sorbentsinclude man-made materials that are similar to plastics, such as polyurethane, polyethylene, and polypropylene and are designed to adsorb liquids onto their surfaces. Other synthetic sorbents include cross-linked polymers and rubber materials, which absorb liquids into their solid structure, causing the sorbent material to swell. Most synthetic sorbents can absorb up 70 times their own weight in oil.

The characteristics of both sorbents and oil types must be considered when choosing sorbents for cleaning up oil spills:

  • Rate of absorption-- The absorption of oil is faster with lighter oil products. Once absorbed the oil cannot be re-released. Effective with light hydrocarbons (e.g., gasoline, diesel fuel, benzene).
  • Rate of adsorption-- The thicker oils adhere to the surface of the adsorbent more effectively.
  • Oil retention-- The weight of recovered oil can cause a sorbent structure to sag and deform, and when it is lifted out of the water, it can release oil that is trapped in its pores. Lighter, less viscous oil is lost through the pores more easily than are heavier, more viscous oils during recovery of adsorbent materials causing secondary contamination.
  • Ease of application-- Sorbents may be applied to spills manually or mechanically, using blowers or fans. Many natural organic sorbents that exist as loose materials, such as clay and vermiculite, are dusty, difficult to apply in windy conditions, and potentially hazardous if inhaled.

Chemical and Biological Methods

Chemical and Biological Methodscan be used in conjunction with mechanical means for containing and cleaning up oil spills. Dispersing agents and gelling agents are most useful in helping to keep oil from reaching shorelines and other sensitive habitats. Biological agents have the potential to assist recovery in sensitive areas such as shorelines, marshes, and wetlands. research into these technologies continues to improve oil spill cleanup. Subpart J of the National Contingency Plan (NCP) establishes the process for authorizing the use of dispersants and other chemical response agents, which includes the NCP Product Schedule, which is the federal government's listing of chemical countermeasures that are available for use during or after an oil spill response.

Dispersing Agents

Dispersing agents, also called dispersants, are chemicals that contain surfactants and/or solvent compounds that act to break petroleum oil into small droplets. In an oil spill, these droplets disperse into the water column where they are subjected to natural processes, such as waves and currents, that help to break them down further. This helps to clear oil from the water's surface, making it less likely that the oil slick will reach the shoreline.

Sorbents being used to absorb crude oil. Credit: OSHA

Heavy crude oils do not disperse as well as light to medium weight oils. Dispersants should not be used on gasoline or diesel spills for example. Dispersants are most effective when applied immediately following a spill, before the lightest materials in the oil have evaporated, however, dispersant manufacturers have claimed that the "window-of-opportunity" to apply dispersants effectively is widening.

Environmental factors, including water salinity and temperature, and conditions at sea also influence the effectiveness of dispersants. Studies have shown that most dispersants work best at salinities close to that of normal seawater. EPA policy does not allow the use of dispersants in freshwater unless authorized by an On-Scene Coordinator to protect human health. The effectiveness of dispersants also depends on water temperature. While dispersants can work in colder water, they work best in warm water.

Some countries rely almost exclusively on dispersants to combat oil spills because frequently rough or choppy conditions at sea make mechanical containment and cleanup difficult. However, dispersants have not been used extensively in the United States because of possible long term environmental effects, difficulties with timely and effective application, disagreement among scientists and research data about their environmental effects, effectiveness, and toxicity concerns.

New technologies that improve the application of dispersants are being designed. The effectiveness of dispersants is being tested in laboratories and in actual spill situations, and the information collected may be used to help design more effective dispersants. Dispersants used today are less toxic than those used in the past, but long term cumulative effects of dispersant use are still unknown.

Gelling Agents

Gelling agents, also known as solidifiers, are chemicals that react with oil to form rubber-like solids. With small spills, these chemicals can be applied by hand and left to mix on their own. For treating larger spills, the chemicals are applied to the oil, then mixed in by the force of high-pressure water streams. The gelled oil is removed from the water using nets, suction equipment, or skimmers, and is sometimes reused after being mixed with fuel oil.

Gelling agents can be used in calm to moderately rough seas, since the mixing energy provided by waves increases the contact between the chemicals and the oil, resulting in greater solidification.

There is one drawback to the use of gelling agents. Large quantities of the material must often be applied, as much as three times the volume of the spill. For oil spills of millions of gallons it is impractical to store, move, and apply such large quantities of material.

Biological Agents

Biological agents are chemicals or organisms that increase the rate at which natural biodegradation occurs. Biodegradation is a process by which microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and yeast break down complex compounds into simpler products to obtain energy and nutrients. Biodegradation of oil is a natural process that slowly - sometimes over the course of several years - removes oil from the aquatic environment. However, rapid removal of spilled oil from shorelines and wetlands is necessary in order to minimize potential environmental damage to these sensitive habitats.

Bioremediation technologies can help biodegradation processes work faster. Bioremediation refers to the act of adding materials to the environment, such as fertilizers or microorganisms, that will increase the rate at which natural biodegradation occurs. Two bioremediation technologies that are currently being used in the United States for oil spill cleanups are fertilization and seeding.

Fertilization, also known as nutrient enrichment, is the method of adding nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen to a contaminated environment to stimulate the growth of the microorganisms capable of biodegradation. Limited supplies of these nutrients in nature usually control the growth of native microorganism populations. When more nutrients are added, the native microorganism population can grow rapidly, potentially increasing the rate of biodegradation.

Seeding is the addition of microorganisms to the existing native oil-degrading population. Sometimes species of bacteria that do not naturally exist in an area will be added to the native population. As with fertilization, the purpose of seeding is to increase the population of microorganisms that can biodegrade the spilled oil.

Other Response Techniques

Physical methods are used to clean up shorelines. Natural processes such as evaporation, oxidation, and biodegradation can start the cleanup process, but are generally too slow to provide adequate environmental recovery. Physical methods, such as wiping with sorbent materials, pressure washing, and raking and bulldozing can be used to assist these natural processes.

Scare tactics are used to protect birds and animals by keeping them away from oil spill areas. Devices such as propane scare-cans, floating dummies, and helium-filled balloons are often used, particularly to keep away birds.

Citation

Nomack, M. (2010). Oil spill control technologies. Retrieved from http://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/spill_response_(Oil_spill_control_technologies)