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

1057897 Alcantar该研究涉及一个团队，该团队将在类似于深水地平线泄漏现场的条件下测试天然和模型表面活性剂的功效。 研究了两种类型的表面活性剂体系：合成聚合物表面活性剂（其中化学功能和结构可以精确控制）和天然聚合物表面活性剂。 天然表面活性剂为设计无毒分散剂提供了重要线索。该研究小组计划在2010年墨西哥湾深水地平线泄漏现场将表面活性剂的有效性与目前使用的分散剂进行比较。智力优势：本RAPID提案的目标是促进对表面活性剂设计和远海分散功效之间的知识。 目前，分散剂的设计和石油泄漏的有效性之间的关系还没有得到很好的理解。 这项研究的两个主要成果是新的原位实验方法，以研究在流动下的分散效率，以及一套设计规则，为下一代的非，这项工作有助于推进表面活性剂技术，并代表了了解设计参数和系统变量与分散效率有关的第一步，墨西哥湾的深水地平线石油泄漏。 拟议项目的两个具体目标是：1）评估天然存在的表面活性剂，并了解其修复海水中原油的作用机制; 2）合成具有生物灵感图案的聚合物表面活性剂，可用作深水地平线泄漏现场的分散剂。更广泛的影响：这项研究将提高对新型无毒分散剂及其内在特性的理解和有效使用，以修改复杂水系统中的界面过程。 天然表面活性剂为设计无毒分散剂提供了重要线索。 这类分散剂的重要技术应用包括将其用于从盐水中补救原油。 这项研究也具有强大的环境和社会影响，其重点是开发无毒的石油泄漏分散解决方案。 该项目还为研究生提供界面自组装领域的培训，这是一种影响深远的现象，对从涂料到医疗保健再到环境修复的几个重要行业都有影响。 这个项目让学生接触到与环境影响、可持续性和绿色技术有关的想法。 预计绿色技术将在今后一至二十年内显著增长。

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.