Development of High Efficient and Low Toxic Oil Spill Dispersants based on Sorbitol Derivants Nonionic Surfactants and Glycolipid Biosurfactants

Abstract

Dispersants, usually blending with several surfactants and a solvent, are used to enhance oil spill dispersion as small droplets in water column. Although there is growing acceptance of dispersants as a counter measure to marine oil spills around the world, the two major issues with the dispersants are their toxicity to marine life and dispersion effectiveness (DE) for crude-oil, especially for heavy oil. To develop more efficient and less toxic dispersants, two kinds of sorbitol derivant nonionic surfactant (polysorbate 85 and sorbeth-40 tetraoleate), two kinds of glycolipid biosurfactants (rhamnolipid and sophorolipid) and less toxic solvent ethylene glycol butyl ether were chosen in this study, and two dispersant formulations were optimized by uniform design methods. Effects of dispersant-to-oil ratio, temperature, salinity and pH on the performance of the two optimized dispersants were investigated. The two dispersants had high dispersion effectiveness (DE) for heavy crude oil, while both dispersants keep high DE at the dispersant-to-oil ratio below 1:25 and the temperature above 5 ℃. In addition, the two dispersants also performed well in a wide range of salinity and pH values. Finally, toxicity tests revealed that the two dispersants showed low toxicity to two kinds of fish (Danio rerio and Microgobius gulosus).

 

Share and Cite:

Song, D. , Liang, S. , Zhang, Q. , Wang, J. and Yan, L. (2013) Development of High Efficient and Low Toxic Oil Spill Dispersants based on Sorbitol Derivants Nonionic Surfactants and Glycolipid Biosurfactants. Journal of Environmental Protection, 4, 16-22. doi: 10.4236/jep.2013.41B004.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] J. Haapkylal, F. Ramade and B. Salvat, “Oil Pollu-tion on Coral Reefs: A Review of the State of Knowledge and Management Needs,” Life and En-vironment, Vol. 57, No. 1-2, 2007, pp. 91–107.
[2] E. M. Chuvilin and E. S. Miklyaeva, “An Experimental Investigation of the Influence of Salinity and Cryogenic Structure on the Dispersion of Oil and Oil Products in Frozen Soils,” Cold Re-gions Science and Technology, Vol. 37, No. 2, 2003, pp. 89–95. doi:10.1016/S0165-232X(03)00063-6
[3] J. S. Poland, M. J. Riddle and B. A. Zeeb, “Contami-nants in the Arctic and the Antarctic: A Comparison of Sources, Impacts, and Remediation Options,” Polar Record, Vol. 39, No. 4, 2003, pp. 369-383. doi:10.1017/S0032247403002985
[4] D. P. Hoult, “Oil Spreading on the Sea,” Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics, Vol. 4, No. 1, 1972, pp. 341-368. doi:10.1146/annurev.fl.04.010172.002013
[5] P. S. Daling, I. Singsaas, M. Reed and O. Hansen, “Experiences in Dispersant Treatment of Experi-mental Oil Spills,” Spill Science & Technology Bulletin, Vol. 7, No. 5-6, 2002, pp. 201-213. doi:10.1016/S1353-2561(02)00061-0
[6] A. Lewis, B. Ken Trudel, R. C. Belore and J. V. Mullin, “Large-scale Dispersant Leaching and Effec-tiveness Experiments with Oils on Calm Water,” Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 60, No. 2, 2010, pp. 244-254. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2009.09.019
[7] P. J. Brandvik and P. S. Daling, “Optimisation of Oil Spill Dispersant Composition by Mixture Design and Response Surface Methods,” Chemometrics and Intelligent Laboratory Systems, Vol. 42, No. 1-2, 1998, pp. 63-72. doi:10.1016/S0169-7439(98)00009-4
[8] A. M. Al-Sabagh, S. H. El-Hamouly, A. M. Atta, M. R. N. El-Din and M. M. Gabr, “Synthesis of Some Oil Spill Dispersants Based on Sorbitol Esters and Their Capability to Disperse Crude Oil on Seawater to Alleviate Its Accumulation and Environmental Impact,” Journal of Dispersion Science and Tech-nology, Vol. 28, No. 5, 2007, pp. 661-670. doi:10.1080/01932690701341751
[9] N. P. Ven-tikos, E. Vergetis, H. N. Psaraftis and G. Trianta-fyllou, “A High-level Synthesis of Oil Spill Response Equipment and Countermeasures,” Journal of Hazardous Materials, Vol. 107, No. 1-2, 2004, pp. 51-58. doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2003.11.009
[10] R. R. Lessard and G. Demarco, “The Significance of Oil Spill Dispersants,” Spill Science & Technology Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2000, pp. 59-68. doi:10.1016/S1353-2561(99)00061-4
[11] R. Stak?nien? and K. Jok?as, “Dispersants and Their Influence on Oil Spread in Water Bodies,” Envi-ronmental research, engineering and management, Vol. 4, No. 34, 2004, pp. 61-67.
[12] M. M. Singer, S. George, S. Jacobson, I. Lee, L. L. Weetman, R. S. Tjeerdema and M. L. Sowby, “Acute Toxicity of the Oil Dispersant Corexit 9554 to Marine Organ-isms,” Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, Vol. 32, No. 1, 1995, pp. 81-86. doi:10.1006/eesa.1995.1088
[13] Cutter Informa-tion Corp., “The Dispersant Use Decision-making Process,” In: Oil Spill Intelligence Report, White Paper Series, April, 1998.
[14] Fiocco, R.J, P.S. Daling, G. DeMarco, R.R. Lessard and G.P.Canevari. 1999b. Chemical Dispersibility Study of Heavy Bunker Fuel Oil. Proc. 22nd Arctic and Marine Oilspill Program, Environment Canada, Ottawa, Canada, pp 173-186.
[15] R. Srinivasan, Q. Lu, G. A. Sorial, A. D. Venosa and J. Mullin, “Dispersant Effectiveness of Heavy Fuel Oils Using Baffled Flask Test,” Environmental Engineering Science, Vol. 24, No. 9, 2007, pp. 1307-1320. doi:10.1089/ees.2006.0251
[16] A. D. Venosa, D. W. King and G. A. Sorial, “The Baffled Flask Test for Dispersant Effectiveness: A Round Robin Evaluation of Reproducibility and Repeatability,” Spill Science & Technology Bulletin, Vol. 7, No. 5–6, 2002, pp. 299–308. doi:10.1016/S1353-2561(02)00072-5
[17] X. Wang, L. Gong, S. Liang, X. Han, C. Zhu and Y. Li, “Algicidal Activity of Rhamnolipid Biosurfactants Produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa,” Harmful Algae, Vol. 4, No. 2, 2005, pp. 433-443. doi:10.1016/j.hal.2004.06.001
[18] D. Song, S. Liang and J. Wang, “Structure Characterization and Physic-chemical Properties of Sophorolipid Biosurfactants,” Environmental chemistry (in Chinese with English abstract), Vol. 30, No. 8, 2011, pp. 1474-1479.
[19] K. T. Fang, “The Uniform Design: Application of Number-theoretic Methods in Experimental Design,” Acta Mathematicae Applicatae Sinica, Vol. 3, 1980, pp. 363-372.
[20] S. Chandrasekar, G. A. Sorial and J. W. Weaver, “Dispersant Effectiveness on Three Oils under Various Simulated Environmental Conditions,” Environmental Engineering Science, Vol. 22, No. 3, 2005, pp. 324-336. doi:10.1089/ees.2005.22.324
[21] P. Riley, “Compositions and Methods for Dispersing and Biodegrading Spilled Petroleum Oils and Fuels,” PetroTech, Patent number: 5753127, 1998.
[22] S. A. Mahmouda and T. M. Abd El-Rahmanb, “A New Family of Oil Spill Dispersants: Part 1. The Effect of Structural Variation on the Oil Spill Dis-persant Efficiency,” Petroleum Science and Tech-nology, Vol. 28, No. 14, 2010, pp. 1394-1406. doi:10.1080/10916460802637585
[23] B. Muk-herjee and B. A. Wrenn, “Influence of Dynamic Mixing Energy on Dispersant Performance: Role of Mixing Systems,” Environmental Engineering Science, Vol. 26, No. 12, 2009, pp. 1725-1737. doi:10.1089/ees.2009.0159
[24] B. Mukherjee and B. A. Wrenn, “Effects of Physical Properties and Dispersion Conditions on the Chemical Dispersion of Crude Oil,” Environmental Engineering Science, Vol. 28, No. 4, 2011, pp. 263-273. doi:10.1089/ees.2010.0131
[25] D. C. Byford, P. J. Green and A. Lewis, “Factors Influencing the Per-formance and Selection of Low-temperature Dis-persants,” Proceedings of the Sixth Arctic Marine Oil Spill Program, Edmonton, Canada, 1983.
[26] M. F. Fingas, “Dispersants: A Review of Effectiveness Measures and Laboratory Physical Studies,” Ottawa, Ontario: Environmental Emer-gencies Technology Division, Environment Canada, 1991.
[27] D Mackay, A. Chau, K. Hossain and M. Bobra, “Measurement and Prediction of the Effec-tiveness of Oil Spill Chemical Dispersants,” In Oil Spill Chemical Dispersants, Research, Experience and Recommendations, STP 840. Tom E. Allen, Ed., American Society for Testing and Materials, Phila-delphia, 1984, pp. 38-54.
[28] S. Chandrasekar, G. A. Sorial and J. W. Weaver, “Dispersant Effective-ness on Oil Spills - impact of Salinity,” ICES Jour-nal of Marine Science, Vol. 63, No. 8, 2006, pp. 1418-1430. doi:10.1016/j.icesjms.2006.04.019
[29] H. Chap-man, K. Purnell, R. J. Law and M. F. Kirby, “The Use of Chemical Dispersants to Combat Oil Spills at Sea: A review of practice and research needs in Europe,” Marine Pollution Bulletin, Vol. 54, No. 7, 2007, pp. 827-838. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2007.03.012
[30] GB 18188.1-2000, Oil Spill Dispersant-Technical Regulations (in Chinese).

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.