Red Sea suffers crude-oil slick

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ola Al-Ghazawy
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Oil Slick

MICROBIAL DEGRADATION OF A LOUISIANA CRUDE OIL IN CLOSED FLASKS AND UNDER SIMULATED FIELD CONDITIONS

1971 ◽  
Vol 1971 (1) ◽  
pp. 287-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard Kator ◽  
C. H. Oppenheimer ◽  
R. J. Miget
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Aromatic Compounds ◽  
Incubation Temperature ◽  
Field Conditions ◽  
Microbial Culture ◽  
Water Interface ◽  
Oil Removal ◽  
Oil Slick ◽  
Oil Water ◽  
Simulated Field

ABSTRACT Petroleum utilizing microorganisms in flasks containing enriched seawater exhibited a clear metabolic preference for saturated paraffins in a Louisiana crude oil. The rates of oxidation of these compounds were directly proportional to incubation temperature and roughly doubled with a ten degree increase. A pattern of growth consisting of an initially large rate of saturated paraffin oxidation, followed by a decrease and another increase in rate was observed. The initially large rates were attributed to the metabolism of n-paraffins smaller than C-18. No even or odd chain length preference for n-paraffins was indicated. There was no evidence of utilization for aromatic compounds. Application of a microbial culture to an oil slick under simulated field conditions, clearly showed that microbes could accelerate the removal of a Louisiana crude oil from an oil slick on seawater. The rates of oil removal in outdoor, exposed conditions, were twice as large as the rates of evaporative oil loss. The microbes produced a significant change in oil “stickiness”. Measurements indicated the oil was dispersed through microbial activity. The cells preferentially remained at the oil-water interface during the experimental periods.

DISPERSANT EFFECTIVENESS ON OIL SPILLS – EMPIRICAL CORRELATIONS

2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 (1) ◽  
pp. 801-804
Author(s):  
Kavitha R. Nagarajan ◽  
Niranjan Deshpande ◽  
George A. Sorial ◽  
James W. Weaver
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Data ◽  
Crude Oil ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Refined Oil ◽  
Mixing Energy ◽  
Oil Slick ◽  
Different Temperatures ◽  
Dispersant Effectiveness ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Full Factorial

ABSTRACT When a dispersant is applied to an oil slick, its effectiveness in dispersing the spilled oil depends on various factors such as oil properties, wave mixing energy, temperature of both oil and water, and salinity of the water. Estuaries represent water with varying salinities. In this study three salinity values in the range of 10–34 ppt were investigated, representing potential salinities found in typical estuaries. Three oils were chosen to represent light refined oil, light crude oil and medium crude oil. Each oil was tested at three weathering levels to represent maximum, medium and zero weathering. Two dispersants were chosen for evaluation. A modified trypsinizing flask termed the ‘Baffled Flask’ was used for conducting the experimental runs. A full factorial experiment was conducted for each oil to investigate the effect of salinity (3 levels), temperature (6 levels), oil weathering (3 levels) and mixing energy (150, 200, and 250 rpm) on dispersant effectiveness. Each experiment was replicated four times in order to evaluate the accuracy of the test. Statistical analyses of the experimental data were performed separately for each of the three oils three times (with or without dispersant). Viscosity of the three oils at the different temperatures and weathering conditions were determined. An empirical correlation of the viscosity for each of the three oils was then obtained. A linear regression model incorporating the viscosity correlations to represent temperature and weathering, the other remaining main factors (salinity and flask speed) and second order interactions among the factors was developed and was found to accurately represent the experimental data. The empirical approach to the interaction between the dispersant and oil slick developed could provide a useful or practical approach for including dispersants in a model to assess the impact of dispersant usage on oil spills.

The oil-slick trade: An analysis of embodied crude oil in China's trade and consumption

2020 ◽  
Vol 88 ◽  
pp. 104763 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wencheng Zhang ◽  
Rui Wei ◽  
Shuijun Peng
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Oil Slick

IS OVEREXPOSURE TO BENZENE LIKELY DURING CRUDE OIL SPILL RESPONSE?1

1989 ◽  
Vol 1989 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. D. Eley ◽  
R. J. Morris ◽  
L. L. Hereth ◽  
T. F. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Adverse Conditions ◽  
Oil Slick ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Self Protection ◽  
Crude Oil Spill

ABSTRACT This article examines the potential for benzene exposure during crude oil spill response. Literature review found that under normal conditions benzene is lost from an oil slick within 40 minutes to 8 hours. A correlation between benzene and API gravity is presented graphically. This information was used to develop worst-case scenarios. Results of a preliminary field investigation indicate that benzene overexposure may be possible during “ideal adverse” conditions. Four generic crude oil spills are described along with rationale for the suggested level of self protection.

EFFECTS OF DISPERSANT AND OIL ON SUBTROPICAL AND TROPICAL SEAGRASSES

1985 ◽  
Vol 1985 (1) ◽  
pp. 497-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anitra Thorhaug ◽  
Jeffry Marcus
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Thalassia Testudinum ◽  
Halodule Wrightii ◽  
Blade Length ◽  
Oil Slick ◽  
Syringodium Filiforme ◽  
Oil Concentration

ABSTRACT Preliminary experiments, using the subtropical/tropical coastal and estuarine seagrasses Thalassia testudinum, Halodule wrightii, and Syringodium filiforme, were carried out to examine the effects of dispersants. Experiments exposed seagrasses in vitro to concentrations of Louisiana crude oil ranging from 7.5 to 500 milliliters (mL) in 105 mL seawater at exposure times of 5 to 100 hours (seagrass not in contact with oil slick). In other experiments, the seagrasses were exposed to the dispersant Corexit 9527, which was combined with the oil in a ratio of 1 part dispersant to 10 parts oil with dispersant concentrations ranging from 0.75 to 50 mL in 105 mL seawater (dispersant plus oil forming a cloud of the substance in contact with seagrasses). The oil or oil with dispersant treatment was removed from the seagrasses after the designated exposure periods. Thereafter, the seagrasses were monitored for 14 days. Blade length was measured as a factor of growth. Thalassia showed the greatest tolerance to dispersant plus oil of the three species tested. It was not substantially affected by any oil concentration alone; however, when exposed to oil and dispersant, growth significantly decreased with concentrations of 125 mL oil and 12.5 mL dispersant in 105 mL seawater at longer periods of exposure (100 hours), and also at much decreased exposure times (5 hours) for 500 mL oil and 50 mL dispersant in 105 mL sea water. Syringodium and Halodule were generally less tolerant than Thalassia, particularly to oil. For example, at 75 mL oil/105 mL sea water and an exposure of 100 hours, growth decreased significantly and mortality increased to 53 percent. Growth and mortality of Syringodium and Halodule were further affected by the addition of dispersant.

COMPOSITION AND FATE OF CLEAN BALLAST WATER DISCHARGED FROM CRUDE OIL TANKERS

1983 ◽  
Vol 1983 (1) ◽  
pp. 435-441
Author(s):  
Jerry M. Neff ◽  
James P. Marum ◽  
J. Scott Warner
Keyword(s):  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Crude Oil ◽  
Red Sea ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Ballast Water ◽  
Hydrocarbon Composition ◽  
Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia ◽  
Benzene Toluene ◽  
Total Oil ◽  
Oil Tankers

ABSTRACT According to Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organization protocols (MARPOL 73/78), clean ballast water (producing no surface sheen and/or containing less than 15 parts per million total oil) from crude oil cargo tanks of tankers can be discharged into coastal waters. As part of an assessment of the potential impact of clean ballast water discharges on Red Sea coral reefs, we have determined the hydrocarbon composition of clean ballast water from crude oil cargo tanks and have determined its rate of dilution following discharge to coastal waters at Yanbu, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In 52 clean ballast water samples from 10 crude oil tankers, total petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations, measured by gas chromatography, ranged from 0.09 to 11 milligrams/liter (ppm). In most cases, the dominant hydrocarbons in the samples were Cll through C20 n-paraffins. Up to 58 micrograms/liter (ppb) total naphthalenes and 744 μg/l benzene, toluene, and ethylbenzene combined were detected in some samples. Clean ballast water was diluted rapidly upon discharge to the ocean. Dilutions of 100-fold or greater were observed within 10 to 20 meters of the discharge and dilutions of 500 to 1,000-fold were measured 1,500 to 2,000 meters downcurrent and within two to four hours of the discharge. Based on these results, it is predicted that discharge of clean ballast water to the coastal waters of the Red Sea in compliance with MARPOL 73/78 rules will have little or no adverse impact on coral reefs of the area.

Effects of Iranian crude oil on the red sea octocoral heteroxenia fuscescens

1977 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuval Cohen ◽  
Arie Nissenbaum ◽  
Ronald Eisler
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Red Sea
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