Papers by Keyword: Oil Spill

Abstract: Extensive processes and costly precursors for the fabrication of existing sorbents for oil spills urges to look for more renewable sorbent sources. In this work, hollow, tubular, cellulosic fibers (kapok, Ceiba pentandra) were successfully converted to carbon sponges by pyrolysis at increasing temperature and time. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the complete carbonization of the kapok fibers at 800 °C. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images revealed that the carbonized kapok fibers maintained their original tubular structures, suggesting high surface area. Water contact angle measurement showed improved hydrophobicity, with a maximum value of about 135°. The carbonized fibers were able to hold selected organic and oil solvents ranging from 16-20 times the weight of the fibers. The fiber pyrolyzed at 400 °C for 0.5 h showed the highest sorption capacity at 45.56 g/g for palm oil, almost matching that of raw kapok.

Abstract: Dispersion is one of the fate processes of oil spill. This research has been carried out on the numerical simulation of the dispersion of crude oil using the model obtained from the work of Hamam (1987). The model was solved with the explicit, implicit and Crank-Nicolson methods of solution of partial differentiation equations with the aid of MATLAB, and the concentration of the crude oil dispersed in water was obtained. The results obtained revealed that the three methods could be used to study the process because the profiles given by all of them were very similar. Also discovered from the investigations carried out was that the concentration of crude oil was decreasing with time for a particular spatial point while, for a particular time, it was increasing along the length of the water body. It was also discovered that experiments would be very necessary in order for the validation of the results obtained from the simulations.

Abstract: The present work develops an automated structure to search, download and pre process Synthetic Aperture RADAR imagery acquired by the Sentinel-1 mission. A Python script defines the area and time of interest, performs the search for relevant products and download them using the Application Program Interfaces Hub of the Sentinels Scientific Data Hub. The preprocessing steps are performed using the Graph Processing Tool, which allows for a batch-mode execution of the Sentinel-1 Toolbox operators. Both steps are combined in a Bash program that performs the entire chain daily, without the need of users interaction. We demonstrate applicabilities of the processed data for coastal studies of the Rio Grande do Sul state. The structure is built aiming to 1) increase the usage of the open-access Sentinel-1 SAR data by reducing the processing time and 2) further develop automated detection systems for targets such as oil spills, ships and flooded areas.

Abstract: Numerical models have been widely used to simulate and predict the behavior and transport of oil spills in marine environments. Their behavior is governed by physical, chemical and biological processes which are related to the hydrocarbon properties, hydrodynamic and weather conditions, and other environmental variables. The transport and interactions of oil particles were evaluated in simulations reproducing two oil spills recorded in the northern part of the Southern Brazilian Shelf (SBS). The numerical simulations were performed using the ECOS (Easy Coupling Oil System) model coupled to the three-dimensional hydrodynamic module TELEMAC3D. The hydrodynamic model provides the variables needed by oil spill model to calculate and infer the properties and behavior of the oil slick. The results indicate that the local wind forcing is the most important factor in determining the oil fate, followed by the intensities and directions of coastal currents. Regarding the events, in 2012 the oil reached the coast after 10 hours of the leak while in 2014 it was transported towards the ocean. The simulation strategy used in this article did not prove to be appropriate for estimates of the oil risk in the region, due to the distinct susceptibility responses between the events simulated.

Abstract: Marine Oil spills have become a serious environmental problem, and contribute to severe impacts and economic losses. Fast and efficient cleanup of oil from marine environment is vital. The use of sorbents is one of the most efficient techniques in removing oil from water. In this work, pure polypropylene (PP) ultrafine fibers with 2 μm diameter were prepared by air assisted melt electrospinning device to be used as oil sorbent. Two fiber samples were used in this study, fluffy, cotton like appearance and oriented, cloth like appearance with different porosities. The influence of temperature change on oil/water mixture was studied. Fluffy fibers showed a better performance in sorption capacity. Results indicated that change in temperature was an important factor in determining the sorption capacity of the fibers. Additionally, in contrast to solution electrospinning, melt electrospinning is safer, cost effective and environmental friendly because of solvents elimination.

Abstract: Oil contamination has caused more public anxiety than other waste or spilt materials into the marine environment. Oil sorbents of high sorption capacity, biodegradable, readily available and low cost, are important for protection of water environment, especially from oil spillage. This work deals with raw and modified corn silk, an agricultural waste, as a low cost sorbent for oil-products spill cleanup in the aquatic environment. Corn silk was modified using fatty acid (oleic acid) to improve its sorption capacity. The chemical functional groups of raw and modified corn silk were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Kinetic tests were conducted with a series of contact times. The kinetic studies showed good correlation coefficients for a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The oleic acid treated corn silk (OTCS) showed high degree of hydrophobicity and oil sorption capacity of approximately 10.7 and 11.90 g oil/g sorbent for Tapis and Arabian crude oil, respectively. Corn silk is a cheap waste material that can be treated to have an acceptable sorption capacity which can be used as an alternative to the commercial synthetic sorbents such as polypropylene.

Abstract: The impacts of oil spill on water pollution are more fatal than on the mainland because the spread of pollutants is larger and more massive. Various techniques are available for dealing with oil spill in the sea. However they turn out to be less effective in combating oil spill in the form of tar balls. Meanwhile, currents, tides and wind can carry tar balls far from the spill location. Therefore, emergency response must be deployed right away. Tar balls are finally collected manually by empowering fishermen in a short time which is quite difficult to be done. This paper discussed a tar balls collector that was designed based on net fishing tool and that it will be simply mounted on the side vessel or combating ship. Tar balls collector consists of several components including the clamp, long support, pulley, rings, frame of the net and net. Structure analysis of the long support of this tool was carried to determine force reaction and stress resultant. This equipment was designed to collect faster and more tar balls, hence reducing the impact of pollution on the marine environment.

Abstract: SAR has been proven to be a useful tool for ocean oil spill detection due to its large coverage, independence of the day and night cycle and all-weather capability. In this paper, one operational visual method for oil spill detection using SAR image was performed and the oil spill key information, such as the location and coverage, has also been demonstrated. The results show that the operational visual method of oil spill detection by SAR image will play an important role in the marine environment protection.

Abstract: With the rapid economic development of China, Water transport constitutes a potential threat to the aquatic environment, human life and production. In this study, the complex ecological floating bed was studied in oil spill pollution control and ecological environment impact monitoring of inland waters. To explore the complex ecological floating bed in inland, especially the Yangtze River, inland waters. The purpose is to lay the theoretical and technical basis of controlling oil spill efficiently and long-term ecological monitoring. Ecological floating bed with PFU fixed oil-degrading bacteria water oil removal performance tests show that, which is very suitable for oil degradation in water.

Abstract: Bohai Sea is a fragile ecological and economic area with frequent oil pollution. On the basis of the actual business demands of oil spill emergency companies in Bohai, this paper puts forward to building the oil spill emergency response platform with "decision-makers view", which created an extendable emergency platform with Smart Client framework suitable for multi department cooperation and growing applications. The platform contains four main modules: (I) forecast and decision; (II) decision supports; (III) auxiliary supports; (IV) framework management. At the same time, the platform realizes many kinds of auxiliary analytical functions such as monitoring analysis, sensitive area analysis, case analysis, resource allocation etc with WebService and GIS technologies. It automatically provides a comprehensive decision list to the decision-maker before emergency actions. The application of the platform will shorten much time of the emergency preparation compared with manual brain decision, and improve the efficiency of the oil spill emergency greatly.