Gerard P. Canevari

SAVING OILED MANGROVES USING A NEW NON-DISPERSING SHORELINE CLEANER

ABSTRACT Mangroves are ranked as one of the most sensitive marine environments. If mangroves are oiled and no further action is taken, the probability of mortality to the trees is high. One of the ...

Key Parameters Affecting the Dispersion of Viscous Oil

ABSTRACT Oil viscosity has been perceived as a major factor affecting the dispersibility of oil. Very high viscosity oils—20,000 centistokes (cs) or more—can readily be observed as resisting the breakup of the oil into dispersed droplets. However, there are instances where a relatively viscous oil will disperse much more readily than another oil of similar viscosity. An extensive study has been conducted at ExxonMobil Research facilities in New Jersey to define the molecular makeup of 14 viscous heavy fuel oil products and determine the property of the viscous oils, besides viscosity, that influences dispersibility. Dispersibility was measured by a standard laboratory dispersant test using a COREXIT dispersant selected from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Contingency Plan (NCP) Product Schedule. Initially, IATROSCAN (TLC) and gas chromatography data failed to show any correlation between chemical properties, such as sulfur, aromatics, paraffins, resins, vanadium, nickel content, et...

MODIFICATION OF THE DISPERSANT COREXIT®9500 FOR USE IN FRESHWATER

ABSTRACT Recent inland spills in Latin America have generated interest in dispersant use for freshwater oil spills. However, oil spill dispersants primarily are formulated for use in marine waters....

Development of Corexit 9580—A Chemical Beach Cleaner

ABSTRACT Chemical beach cleaners can facilitate cleanups of oiled shorelines by improving the efficiency of washing with water. The improvement is a result of reduced adhesion of the oil coating, which makes it easier to remove from shoreline surfaces, thereby reducing washing time and lowering the temperature of the wash water needed to clean a given area. The criteria established for use of chemical beach cleaners in the Exxon Valdez spill cleanup included demonstrating enhanced cleaning with low levels of toxicity to marine biota and with minimal oil dispersion. Since no commercially available products satisfactorily met these criteria for use in Alaska, a new product, Corexit 9580, was specifically developed in response to this need. This paper describes the successful development of this chemical, including both laboratory testing and field testing in Prince William Sound.

The formulation of an effective demulsifier for oil spill emulsions

Abstract The formation of stable sea water-in-crude oil emulsions after an oil spill was first reported after the Torrey Canyon wreck in 1967. The problem of handling this stable water (65%)-in-oil (35%) emulsion rather than oil is evidenced in the additional expensive on-site storage requirement as well as the handling difficulty with the viscous semi-solid emulsion. This paper details the results of an R&D program that has established the mechanism for the formation of this emulsion. This insight enabled a specific effective chemical demulsifier to be formulated. A treatment technique was devised that entails injecting the demulsifier into the oil spill emulsion as it is skimmed from the water surface. The emulsion is then rapidly separated into water-free oil and a clean-water phase that can be decanted back into the sea. Full-scale tests were successfully conducted by JBF Scientific Corp. using two types of commercial JBF DIP skimmers in a small concrete lined pond.

Some dissenting remarks on ‘Deleterious effects of corexit 9527 on fertilization and development’

Abstract The following article discusses the relevance of laboratory toxicity studies of a chemical oil dispersant, in general, and the foregoing paper. While Lonning and Hagstrom use a sensitive means to determine the more subtle, sublethal effects of chemicals on marine life, two major aspects of their work should be clarified. First, a concentration of 1–10 ppm of chemical dispersant, wherein fertilization of the sea urchin egg was affected in their work, does not occur in the usual marine environment with proper use of the dispersant. Second, there is no evidence to support the conclusion that the specific chemical dispersants studied by Lonning and Hagstrom preferentially release ‘toxic substances’ from the crude oil.

New Dispersant Gel Effective on Cold, Viscous Oils

INTRODUCTION Application of chemical dispersants to marine oil spills is an important response option that yields net environmental benefits in many instances particularly for large offshore spills. When properly applied, the dispersion process quickly dilutes the dispersed oil droplets to concentrations below standard toxicity thresholds and allows naturally occurring microorganisms to rapidly biodegrade the oil. Conventional chemical dispersants have limitations that may reduce their effectiveness for viscous oils. This poster describes the development and testing of a new gel dispersant that expands the circumstances under which dispersants may be effective and improves application efficiency.

NEW DISPERSANT DELIVERED AS A GEL

ABSTRACT Recent research has led to a next-generation dispersant that potentially provides significant improvements for all spill scenarios where dispersants are an option in addition to extending ...

CRUDE OIL VANADIUM AND NICKEL CONTENT CAN PREDICT EMULSIFICATION TENDENCY

ABSTRACT Most crude oils in contact with water form water-in-oil emulsions. The stability of these emulsions will vary. When spilled crude oil emulsifies, it becomes viscous and expands in volume, ...

Dispersion of High Viscosity Oils

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the effectiveness of three dispersants in simulated seawater on five different fuel oils (both intermediate fuel oils (IFOs) and heavy fuel oils (HFOs)) with viscosities ranging from 1,079 to 6,615 cSt and densities ranging from 0.995 to 0.998 g/cc. The three dispersants were COREXIT® 9500 dispersant, a dispersant under development by ExxonMobil – ED-6™ gel dispersant, and FINASOL™ OSR 52 dispersant. Testing was done at two dispersant-to-oil ratios (DOR) – 1:20 and 1:10. All three dispersants were effective (70%+ dispersant effectiveness (DE)) for fuel oils with a viscosity less than 2,000 cSt - IFOs 180 and 380. The dispersants were less effective (16 to 58% DE) for the higher viscosity oils (ranging in viscosity from 4,258 to 6,615 cSt). Increasing the amount of dispersant from a DOR of 1:20 to 1:10 significantly improved DE. For example, the DE of the two HFOs studied increased from less than 42% to greater than 56% using COREXIT 9500™ dispersant. The results of our bench-...