Petroleum spills

4 oils of different composition (eg silicone oil and low-molecular—weight polyethylene oxides). 

The relatively polar solvent, compared to, say, hexane, provides little separation of the hydroczirbon components of petroleum products, and therefore while they can be distinguished from the more polar oils investigated, insufficient information is obtained for differentiation between petroleum products. 

Chaimel thin layer chromatography eliminates most of the horizontal spreading of a vertically moving component on the plate, and thereby increases the sensitivity. It has been applied to analysis of oil pollutants [7]. In tills modification, two parallel scratches are made 2mm apart on a silica gel coated plate. The sample is applied so tiiat it develops between 

Semenov et al. [8] determined small amoimts of petroleum products in chloroform extracts of non saline water by extracting the sample (200-500mL) followed by thin layer chromatography on alumina. He developed the chromatogram with light petroleum-carbon tetrachloride-acetic acid (35 155 1), and examined the plate in ultraviolet radiation the petroleum products exhibit three zones (pale blue, yellow and brown). Each zone is then extracted with chloroform, the fluorescence of the extracts measured and the results referred to a calibration graph. The sensitivity is O.lmg L The infrared and fluorescence spectra of the zone obtained with various petroleum products are discussed. 

Sauer and Fitzgerald [9] have described thin layer chromatographic technique for the identification of water-borne petroleum oik. Aromatic and polar compoimds are removed from the sample by liquid-liquid extraction with acidified methanol, the extract is chromatographed on a silica gel thin layer plate, and the separated components are detected by their fluorescence under long- and short-wave ultraviolet light. Unsaturated non-fluorescing compounds are detected by iodine staining. 

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R. E. Jordan and J. R. Payne, Fate and Weathering of Petroleum Spills in the Marine Environment, Ann Arbor Science Pubhcations, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1980. 

The third technique, stripping-out, is by far the most common. In this technique, an inert gas is bubbled through the sample to remove the volatile materials. When the concentration of hydrocarbons is great enough, as, perhaps, after a petroleum spill, the emergent gas stream can be sampled directly [21]. This is seldom the case in true oceanic samples, however, and some form of concentration is needed. 

The more widespread use of ethanol could have some safety benefits since ethanol is water soluble, biodegradable, and evaporates easily. Ethanol spills tend to be much less severe with an easier clean up than petroleum spills. 

Blake, S. B. and Hall, R. A., 1984, Monitoring Petroleum Spills with Wells Some Problems and Solutions In Proceedings of the National Water Well Association of Ground Water Scientists and Engineers, Fourth National Symposium on Aquifer Restoration and Groundwater Monitoring, pp. 305-310. 

Leaching processes introduce hydrocarbon into the water phase by solubility and entrainment. Leaching processes of petroleum products in soils can have a variety of potential scenarios. Part of the aromatic fraction of a petroleum spill in soil may partition into water that has been in contact with the contamination. 

Source Componnds detected in major formulations and products are included, e.g., benzene detected in air, water, or soil samples may be related or have originated from various types of petroleum spills such as gasoline or diesel fuel. In some instances, the compound of concern may be an impurity in the material released to the enviromnent or it may be naturally present in various types of vegetation. 

Prince R. 1993. Petroleum spill bioremediation in marine environments. Critical Reviews in Microbiology 19(4) 217-242. 

The technology, available from a number of vendors, is portable and uses a single pump to extract free product, groundwater, and soil gas from multiple wells. Groundwater and soil gas may require treatment before being discharged. Bioslurping is used at petroleum spill sites and has proven most effective in fine-to-medium textured soils or fractured rock in areas with a low water table. 

The first application developed for smart hydrogels was somewhat mundane. They were used as a liner for golf shoes and in-line skates that takes the shape of the wearer s foot as the result of heat released by the foot, but researchers have envisioned a much broader and more significant number and variety of applications for such materials. Proposed applications include optical shutters actuators and sensors for chemical, heat, and electrical systems valves chemical memory systems fluid switches absorbents for chemical and petroleum spills diapers cosmetics and desalination systems. Thus far, however, the greatest interest has been in biomedical applications of hydrogels. 

Groundwater contamination was significantly less than that dociunented at other refineries. In part, this finding can be explained by a combination of the original refinery construction methods (atypical of most older refineries), lack of petroleum spills, and the passive action of the refinery s underground sewer system, in which groundwater collects and flows to the wastewater treatment plant. 

Because nonpolar alkanes are not water soluble, crude petroleum spilled into the sea from a ruptured oil tanker creates an insoluble oil sUck on the surface. The insoluble hydrocarbon oil poses a special threat to birds whose feathers are coated with natural nonpolar oils for insulation. Because these hydrophobic oils dissolve in the crude petroleum, birds lose their layer of natural protection and many die. 

Garrett, W. D., Impact of Petroleum Spills on the Chemical and Physical... 

Petroleum hydrocarbon sources to North American and worldwide waters were summarized in a report by NRC (2002). In many cases of large petroleum spills, the specihc source of petroleum spill is evident, and no geochemical fingerprinting is required to establish the source. Nevertheless, the inventory of petroleum compounds and biomarkers that are eventually sequestered in bottom sediments need not reflect sole derivation from a single source, even in cases of massive oil spills in the area (e.g., Kvenvolden et al., 1995 Wang et al., 1999). Where a mass balance of petroleum sources is required to properly design remediation or identify a point source, molecular methods for distinguishing sources of hydrocarbons have come to the fore. 

Mousse— A water-in-oil emulsion that is formed by turbulence of the surface water after a petroleum spill to the aquatic environment. 

One important area of petroleum emulsions that is not addressed concerns the water-in-oil mousse emulsions created from oil spills at sea. This topic is covered in detail in a hook hy J. R. Payne and C. R. Phillips entitled Petroleum Spills in the Marine Environment The Chemistry and Formation ofWater-in-Oil Emulsions and Tar Balls Lewis Publishers Chelsea, MI, 1985. 

Health assessment efforts are frequently frustrated by three primary problems (1) the inability to identify and quantify the individual compounds released to the environment as a consequence of a petroleum spill (2) the lack of information characterizing the fate of the individual compounds in petroleum mixtures and (3) the lack of specific health guidance values for the majority of chemicals present in petroleum products. To define the public health implications associated with exposure to petroleum hydrocarbons, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of petroleum properties, compositions, and the physical, chemical, biological, and toxicological properties of the compounds most often identified as the key chemicals of concern. 

Jordan RE, Payne JR. 1980. Fate and weathering of petroleum spills in the marine environment A literature review and synopsis. Ann Arbor, MI Ann Arbor Science Publisher, Inc. 

The importance of studying the fate of PAHs in the environment can not be understated. PAHs are a ubiquitous, diverse group of organic compounds containing one or more fused aromatic rings. PAHs are found in air, water and soil samples due to contamination from combustion of hydrocarbons and from petroleum spills. But the fate of PAHs in the environment is hard to follow as a result of detection and... 

Efroymson RA et al., Toward a framework for assessing risk to vertebrate populations from brine and petroleum spills at exploration and production sites, in Landscape Ecology and Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Critical Information for Ecological Risk Assessment, Land-Use Management Activities, and Biodiversity Enhancement Practices, ASTM STP 1458, Kapustka L et al., Eds., ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2004, chap. 15. 

Liquid petroleum (cmde oil and the products refined from it) plays a pervasive role in our modem society. For example, about 286,000 tonnes of oil and petroleum products are used in Canada every day. The United States uses about 10 times this amount and, worldwide, about 11 million tonnes are used per day. Extraction, transportation, and widespread use of petroleum inevitably result in intentional and accidental releases to the environment. In addition, natural seepage of cmde oil from geologic formations below the seafloor to the sea surface also contributes to pollution of the marine environment. Based on analysis of data from a wide variety of sources, each year on average about 260,000 tonnes of petroleum spills into the waters off North America. Annual worldwide estimates of petroleum input into the sea exceed 1,300,000 tonnes. In Canada, about 12 spills of more than 40001 are reported each day, of which only about one spill is into navigable waters and most spills take place on land. In the U.S.A., about 25 such spills occur each day into navigable waters and about 75 occur on land. ... 

The fates of spilled petroleum are still not well understood despite two decades of investigation. Petroleum spilled on water undergoes a series of complex changes which, taken together, usually result in its relatively rapid disappearance from the surface. For example, rapid initial spreading of most oils to a thin film on the surface leads to a surprisingly rapid loss of its volatile constituents to the atmosphere by evaporation certainly within a few days, at most, virtually all of the even slightly volatile hydrocarbons that have not been removed by other processes will evaporate (Stiver and Mackay, 1984 Stiver et al., 1989). 

Petroleum Spills, leaks or blow-by of motor lubricants, antifreeze and hydraulic fluids, asphalt surface leachate, dust suppressants and roadbed stabilizers... 

JR Payne, CR Phillips. Petroleum Spills in the Marine Environment — The Chemistry and Formation of Water-in-Oil Emulsions and Tar Balls. Chelsea, MI Lewis Publishers, 1985. 

Alkanes, the simplest hydrocarbons, are found in all shapes and sizes and occur widely in nature. They are the major constituents of petroleum, a complex mixture of compounds that includes hydrocarbons such as hexane and decane. Crude petroleum spilled into the sea from a ruptured oil tanker creates an insoluble oil slick on the surface. Petroleum is refined to produce gasoline, diesel fuel, home heating oil, and a myriad of other useful compounds. In Chapter 4, we learn about the properties of alkanes, how to name them (nomenclature), and oxidation—one of their important reactions. 

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