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Parametric Study to Determine the Effect of Operational Variables on Oil Solidifier Performance for Oil Spill Remediation

Sundaravadivelu, Devi
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1447070446

Abstract Details

2015, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Engineering and Applied Science: Environmental Engineering.
Solidifiers are high molecular weight polymers that transform hydrocarbons into a rubber-like solid on contact. They can reduce the spread of oil and protect wildlife and receptor areas. However, scarce literature and gaps in research have resulted in limited use of solidifiers for oil spill cleanup. A laboratory investigation was conducted to develop a testing methodology, evaluate product effectiveness, study the solidifier product properties, and evaluate the effects of environmental conditions on performance. First, this study presents the development and evaluation of a new bench-scale testing protocol that would provide a standard for the U.S. EPA in solidifier product evaluation prior to listing on the National Contingency Plan Product Schedule. Three protocols were qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated to determine if they can satisfactorily differentiate effective and mediocre products while still accounting for experimental error. Then, the effectiveness of five solidifiers was studied using the best preforming protocol with a light, medium, and heavy oils at room temperature under varying surface area, salinity, mixing speed, and solidifier-to-oil mass ratio (SOR). The removal efficiency of the solidifier was determined by extracting the free oil remaining on the water at the end of the contact time and quantifying that residual oil by UV-visible spectrophotometry. ANOVAs were performed on the data collected, and results indicated that larger beaker size increased spreading, which reduced removal efficiency. Mixing speed appears to impart a ceiling effect with no additional benefit provided by the highest level over the middle level. Salinity was found to be mostly an insignificant factor on performance. Results indicated that SOR and solidifier type are the most important variables affecting performance. The experimental procedure used was found to be consistent and reproducible. Next, the effect of temperature on product effectiveness was evaluated using the developed testing protocol. The variables that did not significantly affect solidifier performance were fixed at values convenient for testing purposes. Five test oils and 12 solidifier products were used for this part of the study. The experiments were conducted at 22 and 5°C, and the results indicated that the removal efficiency of the solidifier was in general directly proportional to temperature, except for the heavier oils, where removal by attachment was observed. Analysis of experimental data yielded a novel empirical model involving certain operational variables such as application rate, solidifier property (bulk density), and oil property (viscosity). Since solidifier properties greatly affected the action of polymeric products in oil spill remediation, measuring and correlating properties that describe a solidifier should enable determination of characteristics that are typical of a good solidifier. The polymeric based solidifiers were analyzed with FTIR, XPS, SEM and EDX. Inter-particle void volume and intra-particle pore size contributed towards the product efficiency. The product efficiency tended to improve with low bulk density, high pore size, increasing calcium content, and decreasing carbon content. These results can help understand the effect of environmental conditions and solidifier properties and aid in developing guidelines for the use of solidifiers as a response tool for oil spill remediation under various environmental conditions.
George Sorial, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Albert Venosa, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Pablo Campo, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Margaret Kupferle, Ph.D. P.E. (Committee Member)
Makram Suidan, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
103 p.
Environmental Studies
oil spill; solidifier; remediation; temperature; regression; crude oil

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Sundaravadivelu, D. (2015). Parametric Study to Determine the Effect of Operational Variables on Oil Solidifier Performance for Oil Spill Remediation [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1447070446

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Sundaravadivelu, Devi. Parametric Study to Determine the Effect of Operational Variables on Oil Solidifier Performance for Oil Spill Remediation. 2015. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1447070446.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Sundaravadivelu, Devi. "Parametric Study to Determine the Effect of Operational Variables on Oil Solidifier Performance for Oil Spill Remediation." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1447070446

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1447070446
526
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.