RAPID: Water-based, Natural Polymer Surfactants: Implications for Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Dispersions

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1057897AlcantarThe research involves a team that will test the efficacy of natural and model surfactants in conditions similar to Deepwater Horizon spill sites. Two types of surfactant systems are investigated: synthetic polymeric surfactants (where chemical functionality and architecture can be precisely controlled) and natural polymeric surfactants. The natural surfactants yield important cues for designing non-toxic dispersants. The research team plans to compare the surfactants' effectiveness to currently used dispersants at the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill site in the Gulf of Mexico.Intellectual Merit:The goal of this RAPID proposal is to advance knowledge between surfactant design and dispersion efficacy in the open sea. Currently, the relationship between the design of dispersants and effectiveness in oil spills is not well understood. Two major outcomes of this research are new in situ experimental methods to study dispersion efficiency under flow as well as a set of design rules for the next generation of non-toxic dispersants that can function over a broad range of oil viscosities.This work is instrumental in advancing surfactant technology and represents a first step in understanding the design parameters and system variables with respect to dispersion efficiency at the recent Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Two specific aims of the proposed project are: 1) evaluation of naturally occurring surfactants and understanding their mechanism of action to remediate crude oil in sea water, and 2) the synthesis of polymer surfactants with biologically inspired motifs that can function as dispersants for Deepwater Horizon spill sites.Broader Impacts:This research will improve the understanding and effective use of novel, non-toxic dispersants and its intrinsic character to modify interfacial processes in complex water systems. Natural surfactants yield important cues for designing non-toxic dispersants. The important technological applications of such dispersants include their utilization in the remediation of crude oil from salt water. This research also has a strong environmental and societal impact, with its focus on developing non-toxic solutions for oil spill dispersion. This project also provides training to graduate students in the area of self-assembly at interfaces, a far-reaching phenomenon with implications in several important industries, from coatings to healthcare to environmental remediation. This project exposes students to ideas related to environmental impact, sustainability, and green technologies. It is expected that green technologies will grow significantly over the next one to two decades.