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

墨西哥湾漏油事件的 RAPID：原油与分散剂和自然产生的颗粒的相互作用

• 批准号: 1049395
• 负责人: Marina Tsianou
• 金额: $ 6.9万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Buffalo
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-08-15 至 2012-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1049395&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Gulf; Mexico; Oil; Spill

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.

1049395 Tsianou动机美国历史上最严重的石油泄漏每天都在恶化：由于英国石油公司/深水地平线事故，每天约有150万加仑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打破石油泄漏，一个巨大的数额，引起关注的野生动物和人类暴露在它。很明显，石油清理工作将是激烈的，环境影响将是持久的。迫切需要有关石油分散剂相互作用的基本信息，以促进分散剂的重新配制，使其对野生动物和人类健康更安全。此外，还需要有关原油和矿物颗粒之间相互作用的基本信息。建议研究为应对漏油危机，PI建议（1）推进促进目前使用的分散剂的重新配方的方法，以减少/取代有害成分，（2）开发基于矿物颗粒的对环境影响小的石油分散剂。(1)油和分散剂将在受控的水性环境中接触，其规模为（i）单个油滴（新设置）和（ii）大量液滴（当前EPA测试），并且将分析/合成从两个设置获得的信息，以便（a）在分子/纳米级水平上生成关于油-表面活性剂相互作用的数据，（B）解析分散剂各组分对分散的贡献，和（c）通过使用本文将开发的单滴方法促进分散剂配方的优化。（2）（i）将描述原油在各种矿物表面（与沙子和沉积物有关）上的润湿和粘附特性，并将根据表面自由能参数分析这些发现，这些参数随后可用于预测各种条件下的润湿/粘附行为。 (ii)将研究矿物颗粒存在下原油的乳化，以及矿物颗粒和分子表面活性剂同时存在下原油的乳化（寻求协同作用），并将分析结果，以评估天然矿物颗粒基分散剂的功效。为了解决自然界的可变性问题，将系统地改变条件，和模型化合物（API标准）和从海湾地区采集的样品将进行测试。单滴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有助于对原油和分散剂（作为一种配方和作为其单个成分）之间的相互作用以及原油和矿物颗粒之间的相互作用的基础知识（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的适用性（例如，食品级、可替代的表面活性剂（例如，烷基葡糖苷）和作为表面活性剂的矿物颗粒。 EPA烧瓶分散试验和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，为针对特定漏油事件快速重新配制分散剂铺平道路。基于新型矿物颗粒的石油分散剂的开发提供了一个使用天然成分来对抗石油泄漏的机会，并增加了我们对海岸线补救所需的石油-矿物相互作用的知识。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，因为它已经在水中演变在沿海地区（石油扩散）和海岸线（石油沉积在矿物上）的石油沉积情况，将为决定适合使用何种类型和数量的分散剂以及决定如何处理海岸线和生物表面以清除残余石油提供信息。 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，包括在科学和工程中代表性不足的团体的成员。 化学工程大三和大四学生将完成与此主题相关的课程项目。