Chemical Treating Agents

The objectives of this study will be to advance the understanding of the effectiveness of chemical dispersants when applied to oil in ice-infested waters, specifically in slush or frazil ice conditions. This study will conduct weathering studies and dispersant effectiveness tests at meso-scale to establish the rate of change of oil properties when spilled in frazil ice and determine the potential for the use of chemical dispersants in this scenario

It has been argued that the presence of surfactants on the water surface of wavetanks from prior dispersant applications prevents the spreading of oil within the tank. It is further argued that the dispersant effectiveness (DE) measured in wavetanks could be severely reduced in comparison to the DE of the same dispersants at sea. Previous research has agreed with this argument and has advocated the flushing of the wavetank to ensure that no surfactants are present at the water surface.

The objective of this project is to evaluate the standardized Baffled Flask Test using fluorescence analysis and study the effects of pressure and various environmental conditions on oil when released in deep sea environments. This project will also bridge the gap between laboratory methodology and field analysis by incorporating the modified 1 liter Baffled Flask Test and fluorescence probe for determining dispersant effectiveness in the field.

PNNL will conduct a set of controlled laboratory experiments simulating environments of the US Outer Continental Shelf characterized by high pressure, low temperature, and low mixing to first characterize the performance of dispersants and second, to characterize subsequent biodegradation. Four sets of experiments are detailed that will characterize;

The objective of the study has been to provide information to support dispersant use decision-making with respect to oil spill chemical dispersant effectiveness under the environmental conditions likely to be encountered in the U.S. Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.

The goals of the goals research were to:

Task 1. Identify the prevailing environmental conditions in the U.S. Beaufort and Chukchi Seas that would affect dispersant performance;

To support BSEE's mission towards promoting safety and protecting the marine environment, SwRI synthesized the current state of knowledge on dispersant effectiveness testing to establish a baseline and aid in developing a road map for future research and technical development.

Upon completing the literature review, SwRI summarized the findings concerning the state of knowledge and key knowledge gaps in a report provided to BSEE. SwRI also provided a searchable database of articles and/or abstracts and links.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) recently conducted independent dispersant effectiveness testing. Four dispersants were selected from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Contingency Plan (NCP) Product Schedule and were tested on an Alaskan crude oil under simulated arctic conditions at Ohmsett. They include Corexit® EC9500A, Finasol® OSR 52, Accell® Clean DWD, and ZI 400. To capture operational effectiveness issues, the dispersants were applied to a surface slick using Ohmsett's spray bar, which simulated a system similar to a boat spraying system.

Objective:
The objective of this project was to identify and provide rough cost estimates for the upgrades that would be required at the Ohmsett test facility to enable it to be used by researchers to study the process of direct injection of dispersants in subsea oil and gas well blowouts.

The objective of the proposed research was to develop real-time and passive monitoring protocols to effectively determine the impact of dispersant use and VOC release, in both surface and subsurface applications, on oil spill response worker safety.

The project was accomplished in a series of tasks, as described below.

The objective of this project was advance the state of the art and knowledge in chemical dispersant use when injected into a subsea oil, or oil and gas, release.

The project was accomplished in a series of tasks, as described below.