RAPID for Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: Interactions of Crude Oil with Dispersants and Naturally Occurring Particles

美国历史上最严重的石油泄漏事件每天都在恶化：由于英国石油公司/深水地平线事故，每天大约有150万加仑的原油被喷入墨西哥湾。超过100万加仑的化学分散剂已被用于努力分解石油泄漏，这一巨大的数量引起了对暴露在石油中的野生动物和人类的担忧。很明显，清理油污的努力将是激烈的，对环境的影响将是持久的。目前迫切需要有关石油分散剂相互作用的基本信息，以便于重新配制分散剂，使其对野生动物和人类健康更安全。此外，还需要关于原油和矿物颗粒之间相互作用的基本信息。为应对溢油危机，PI建议(1)改进现有分散剂配方的方法，以减少或替代有害成分；(2)开发基于矿物颗粒的对环境影响较小的分散剂。(1)油和分散剂将在受控的水环境中接触，其规模为(i)单个油滴（新设置）和（ii）大量油滴（当前EPA测试），从这两个设置中获得的信息将被分析/合成，以便(a)在分子/纳米水平上生成油表面活性剂相互作用的数据，(b)解决分散剂单个组分对分散的贡献。(c)通过使用这里将要开发的单滴方法，促进分散剂配方的优化。(2)(i)原油在各种矿物表面（与沙子和沉积物有关）上的润湿和粘附将被表征，这些发现将根据表面自由能参数进行分析，这些参数随后可用于预测各种条件下的润湿/粘附行为。（ii）将研究原油在矿物颗粒存在下的乳化，以及在矿物颗粒和分子表面活性剂存在下的乳化（寻求协同作用），并对结果进行分析，以评价天然矿物颗粒为基础的分散剂的功效。为了解决自然界的可变性问题，将系统地改变条件，并对从海湾地区收集的模型化合物（API标准）和标本进行测试。单滴方法将有助于快速测试，以处理原油的自然变异性。知识价值和新颖性：该项目将为原油与分散剂（作为配方及其单独成分）之间的相互作用以及原油与矿物颗粒之间的相互作用提供基础知识（目前在已发表的文献中缺乏）。这项工作将通过探索替代载体溶剂（如食品级）、替代表面活性剂（如烷基糖苷）和矿物颗粒作为表面活性剂的适用性来扩展当前的选择。EPA烧瓶分散试验与新开发的单滴分散方法之间的联系可以实现分散剂的高通量筛选，为快速重新配制分散剂铺平道路，以应对给定的溢油。新型矿物颗粒基分散剂的开发为使用天然成分来对抗石油泄漏提供了机会，并增加了海岸线修复所需的石油-矿物相互作用知识。更广泛的影响拟议工作的结果可以帮助对目前的情况进行即时、客观和独立的评估，因为它在水中（石油分散）和海岸线（石油沉积在矿物上）的演变，将为决定使用哪种类型和数量的分散剂提供信息，以及决定如何处理海岸线和生物表面以去除残留的石油。这项工作将由学术研究人员进行，他们与石油公司没有利益冲突，并将公开分享他们的数据。一些研究生和本科生将参与研究，包括在科学和工程领域代表性不足的群体的成员。化学工程三年级和四年级学生将完成与本主题相关的课程项目。

1049395TsianouMotivation The worst oil spill in US history is getting worse every single day: about 1.5 million gallons of crude oil are being spewed each day into the Gulf of Mexico as a result of the BP/Deepwater Horizon accident. Over 1 million gallons of chemical dispersants have been used in an effort to break up the oil spill, a huge amount that causes concerns for the wildlife and humans exposed to it. It is clear that the oil clean up efforts will be intense, and the environmental impact will be persistent. There is an urgent need for fundamental information on oil dispersant interactions that would facilitate the reformulation of dispersants so as to render them safer toward wildlife and human health. Also, a need for fundamental information on interactions between crude oil and mineral particles.Proposed ResearchIn response to the oil spill crisis, the PI proposes to (1) advance methodologies that facilitate the reformulation of currently used dispersants, so as to reduce/replace hazardous ingredients, and (2)develop oil dispersants based on mineral particles that will have low impact on the environment. (1) Oil and dispersant will be brought into contact in a controlled, aqueous environment at a scale of (i) an individual oil drop (novel set-up) and (ii) large populations of drops (current EPA test), and the information obtained from the two setups will be analyzed/synthesized in order to (a) generate dataon oil-surfactant interactions at the molecular/nanoscale level, (b) resolve the contribution to the dispersion of the individual components f the disper-sant, and (c) facilitate the optimization of dispersant formulation through the use of the single-drop methodology that will be developed here. (2)(i) The wetting and adhesion of crude oil on a variety of mineral surfaces (related to sand and sediment) will be characterized, and these findings will be analyzed in terms of surface free energy parameters that can be subsequently used to predict wetting/adhesion behavior in a variety of conditions. (ii) The emulsification of crude oil in the presence of mineral particles, and also in the presence of mineral particles and molecular surfactants, will be studied (seeking synergisms), and the results will be analyzed so as to evaluate the efficacy of natural, mineral particle based dispersants.In order to address the issue of variability in nature, conditions will be varied systematically, and model compounds (API standards) and specimens collected from the Gulf area will be tested. The single drop methodology will facilitate rapid testing to handle the natural variability in crude oils.Intellectual Merit and NoveltyThis project will contribute to the fundamental knowledge (currently lacking in the published literature) on interactions between crude oil and dispersants (as a formulation and as its individual components), and on interactions between crude oil and mineral particles. This work will expand the current options by exploring the suitability of alternative carrier solvents (e.g., food grade, alternative surfactants (e.g., alkyl glucosides), and mineral particles as surface active agents. The connection between the EPA flask dispersion test and a newly developed single drop dispersion methodology could enable high throughout screening of dispersants, paving the way for rapid reformulation of dispersants in response to a given oil spill. The development of novel mineral particle based oil dispersants provides an opportunity to use natural ingredients to combat oil spills, and adds to our oil-mineral interactions knowledge needed for coastline remediation.Broader ImpactsOutcomes of the proposed work could aid in an immediate, objective, and independent evaluation of the current situation as it has evolved in the water (oil dispersion) and at the coastline (oil deposition on minerals), will inform decisions on what types and quantities of dispersants are appropriate to use, as well as decisions on how to treat shorelines and biosurfaces in order to remove residual oil. The work will be carried out by academic researchers who have no conflict of interest with oil companies and will openly share their data. Several graduate and undergraduate students will be involved in research, including members of groups underrepresented in science and engineering. Chemical Engineering juniors and seniors will complete course projects related to this topic.