Assessment of chemical dispersant effectiveness in a wave tank under regular non-breaking and breaking wave conditions

Current chemical dispersant effectiveness tests for product selection are commonly performed with bench-scale testing apparatus. However, for the assessment of oil dispersant effectiveness under real sea state conditions, test protocols are required to have hydrodynamic conditions closer to the natural environment, including transport and dilution effects. To achieve this goal, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designed and constructed a wave tank system to study chemical dispersant effectiveness under controlled mixing energy conditions (regular non-breaking, spilling breaking, and plunging breaking waves). Quantification of oil dispersant effectiveness was based on observed changes in dispersed oil concentrations and oil-droplet size distribution. The study results quantitatively demonstrated that total dispersed oil concentration and breakup kinetics of oil droplets in the water column were strongly dependent on the presence of chemical dispersants and the influence of breaking waves. These data on the effectiveness of dispersants as a function of sea state will have significant implications in the drafting of future operational guidelines for dispersant use at sea.     

Wind and freshwater influence over hydrocarbon dispersal on Patos Lagoon, Brazil

The two-dimensional barotropic, hydrodynamic and transport model MOHID is applied to the Patos Lagoon system using a nested modelling approach to reproduce both the lagoon and estuary hydrodynamics. A new Lagrangian oil spill model is presented and used to simulate a hypothetical oil spill in the estuary. Hydrodynamic fields are validated and used to force the oil model. Results show that the hydrodynamics of this system is mainly controlled by the wind and freshwater discharge. The dispersion, concentration and thickness evolution of the oil in the first day after the spill is determined by the equilibrium between these two factors. The freshwater discharge is the major factor controlling the oil dispersion for discharges greater than 5000 m3 while the wind assumes control for lower discharge amounts. The results presented are a first step toward a coastal management tool for the Patos Lagoon.     

Large-scale cold water dispersant effectiveness experiments with Alaskan crude oils and Corexit 9500 and 9527 dispersants

There continues to be reluctance in some jurisdictions to use chemical dispersants as a viable countermeasure for accidental oil spills. One argument used by some opponents to dispersant use is that “chemical dispersants do not work effectively in cold water”. To address this issue, the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) funded and conducted two series of large-scale dispersant experiments in very cold water at Ohmsett - The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility, located in Leonardo, New Jersey in February-March 2006 and January-March 2007. Alaska North Slope, Endicott, Northstar and Pt. McIntyre crude oils and Corexit 9500 and Corexit 9527 dispersants were used in the two test series. The crude oils were tested both when fresh and after weathering. Results demonstrated that both Corexit 9500 and Corexit 9527 dispersants were 85-99% effective in dispersing the fresh and weathered crude oils tested at cold temperatures. The MMS expects that results from these test series will assist government regulators and responders in making science based decisions on the use of dispersants as a response tool for oil spills in the Arctic.     

Uptake and tissue distribution of C4-C7 alkylphenols in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua): relevance for biomonitoring of produced water discharges from oil production

The sensitivity of different tissues for assessment of chronic low-dose environmental exposure of fish to alkylphenols (APs) was investigated. We exposed Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the laboratory to tritium labelled 4-tert-butylphenol, 4n-pentylphenol, 4n-hexylphenol, and 4n-heptylphenol via seawater (8 ng/l) and via contaminated feed (5 μg/kg fish per day). Measurements of different fish tissues during eight days of exposure and eight subsequent days of recovery revealed that APs administered via spiked seawater were readily taken up whereas the uptake was far less efficient when APs were administered in spiked feed. AP residues were mainly located in the bile fluid whereas the concentrations in liver were very low, indicating a rapid excretion and the liver-bile axis to be the major route of elimination. The biological half-life of APs in the exposed cod was short, between 10 and 20 h. Our study shows that in connection with biomonitoring of AP exposure in fish, assessment of AP metabolites in bile fluid is a more sensitive tool than detection of parent AP levels in liver or other internal tissues.     

Application of HF radar currents to oil spill modelling

In this work, the benefits of high-frequency (HF) radar currents for oil spill modeling and trajectory analysis of floating objects are analyzed. The HF radar performance is evaluated by means of comparison between a drifter buoy trajectory and the one simulated using a Lagrangian trajectory model. A methodology to optimize the transport model performance and to calculate the search area of the predicted positions is proposed. This method is applied to data collected during the Galicia HF Radar Experience. This experiment was carried out to explore the capabilities of this technology for operational monitoring along the Spanish coast. Two long-range HF radar stations were installed and operated between November 2005 and February 2006 on the Galician coast. In addition, a drifter buoy was released inside the coverage area of the radar. The HF radar currents, as well as numerical wind data were used to simulate the buoy trajectory using the TESEO oil spill transport model. In order to evaluate the contribution of HF radar currents to trajectory analysis, two simulation alternatives were carried out. In the first one, wind data were used to simulate the motion of the buoy. In the second alternative, surface currents from the HF radar were also taken into account. For each alternative, the model was calibrated by means of the global optimization algorithm SCEM-UA (Shuffled Complex Evolution Metropolis) in order to obtain the probability density function of the model parameters. The buoy trajectory was computed for 24 h intervals using a Monte Carlo approach based on the results provided in the calibration process. A bivariate kernel estimator was applied to determine the 95% confidence areas. The analysis performed showed that simulated trajectories integrating HF radar currents are more accurate than those obtained considering only wind numerical data. After a 24 h period, the error in the final simulated position improves using HF radar currents. Averaging the information from all the simulated daily periods, the mean search and rescue area calculated using HF radar currents, is reduced by approximately a 62% in comparison with the search area calculated without these data. These results show the positive contribution of HF radar currents for trajectory analysis, and demonstrate that these data combined with atmospheric forecast models, are of value for trajectory analysis of oil spills or floating objects.     

Current and Future Applications of 3-D Global Earth-Ionosphere Models Based on the Full-Vector Maxwell’s Equations FDTD Method

Advances in computing technologies in recent decades have provided a means of generating and performing highly sophisticated computational simulations of electromagnetic phenomena. In particular, just after the turn of the twenty-first century, improvements to computing infrastructures provided for the first time the opportunity to conduct advanced, high-resolution three-dimensional full-vector Maxwell’s equations investigations of electromagnetic propagation throughout the global Earth-ionosphere spherical volume. These models, based on the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, are capable of including such details as the Earth’s topography and bathymetry, as well as arbitrary horizontal/vertical geometrical and electrical inhomogeneities and anisotropies of the ionosphere, lithosphere, and oceans. Studies at this level of detail simply are not achievable using analytical methods. The goal of this paper is to provide an historical overview and future prospectus of global FDTD computational research for both natural and man-made electromagnetic phenomena around the world. Current and future applications of global FDTD models relating to lightning sources and radiation, Schumann resonances, hypothesized earthquake precursors, remote sensing, and space weather are discussed.

Biodegradation of Crude Oil by Individual Bacterial Strains and a Mixed Bacterial Consortium Isolated from Hydrocarbon Contaminated Areas

A preliminary study was undertaken to determine the optimal conditions for the biodegradation of a crude oil. Among 57 oil‐degrading bacterial cultures isolated from oil‐contaminated soil samples, Bacillus sp. IOS1‐7, Corynebacterium sp. BPS2‐6, Pseudomonas sp. HPS2‐5, and Pseudomonas sp. BPS1‐8 were selected for the study based on the efficiency of crude oil utilization. Along with the selected individual strains, a mixed bacterial consortium prepared using the above strains was also used for degradation studies. The mixed bacterial consortium showed more growth and degradation than did individual strains. At 1% crude oil concentration, the mixed bacterial consortium degraded a maximum of 77% of the crude oil. This was followed by 69% by Pseudomonas sp. BPS1‐8, 64% by Bacillus sp. IOS1‐7, 45% by Pseudomonas sp. HPS2‐5, and 41% by Corynebacterium sp. BPS2‐6. The percentage of degradation by the mixed bacterial consortium decreased from 77 to 45% as the concentration of crude oil was increased from 1 to 12%. Temperature of 35°C and pH 7 were found to be optimum for maximum degradation.     

Separation of Vanillin from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Lignin

The separation of vanillin from the lignin of empty fruit bunch oil palm is presented in this study. The lignin was extracted from soda black liquor derived from oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) using 20% sulfuric acid. Nitrobenzene oxidation was carried out by adding 50 mg of dry EFB lignin into a mixture of 7 mL of 2 M NaOH and 4 mL of nitrobenzene in a 15 mL steel autoclave. The autoclave was sealed tightly with a screw cap fitted with a Teflon gasket and heated to 165°C for 3 h in a preheated thermostatic oil bath. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to determine the concentration of each compound present in the lignin. There were eight compounds detected in the HPLC chromatogram. The crystallization process was then used as a method to separate vanillin from other compounds. Based on the solubility of vanillin in acetone, 15 mL of acetone was added to the residue of the oxidized products and heated to 60°C for 10 min. A yield of 1.6% vanillin was isolated from a 50 mg lignin sample. The isolated compound was analyzed with HPLC, Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FT‐IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (¹³C‐NMR) for structural verification. The results of the characterization studies proved that the isolated compound is vanillin.     

三维地质建模及数值模拟技术在油藏开发中的应用

通过鄂尔多斯盆地油坊庄油田定31井区侏罗纪延长组长1油藏三维精细地质模型的建立,对该区油田地质储量、采油量、含水率和压力等进行了数值历史拟合,摸清该区剩余油的分布规律:剩余油主要分布在构造高部位、沉积主河道注水未波及部位、生产井泄油半径之外和生产井未补孔部位.针对该区剩余油的分布规律制定了新钻调整井和老井侧钻、注采井网完善、采油工艺挖潜3种方法进行开发方案调整,并对调整后的开发技术指标进行了数值模拟预测.     

Tmax of asphaltenes: a parameter for oil maturity assessment

A new maturity parameter determined on both oil and bitumen samples, the asphaltene T_max, is proposed and discussed. This parameter could be very useful to address the maturity of the source rock. The asphaltene T_max is measured by programmed Rock-Eval pyrolysis, using a modified temperature program. Some phases of the experimental procedure, such as the asphaltene preparation and the Rock-Eval measurement substratum choice, are crucial in order to achieve reliable data. Laboratory simulations were carried out in order to assess the possible effects of both primary and secondary migration on asphaltene T_maxin the expelled oil: the original value of the asphaltene T_max in the bitumen is not substantially modified and it is very close to that measured on kerogen. Examples of the determination of asphaltene T_max on many samples, collected from different areas and with different organic matter composition, are given. Results show that T_max values from oil asphaltenes are reasonable indicators of source rock maturity.