Characterizing Dispersion Effectiveness at Varying Salinities
Citation:
Conmy, R., D. SUNDARAVADIVELU, B. Schaeffer, B. Robinson, T. King, R. GROSSER, AND E. HOLDER. Characterizing Dispersion Effectiveness at Varying Salinities . International Oil Spill Conference, Virtual, OH, May 10 - 13, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
This slide deck corresponds to an International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings Paper. Understanding the effect of salinity on oil dispersion is important for spill response. If an oil release were to occur into hypersaline waters, the extent of natural dispersion is currently unknown or whether chemical dispersants could be an effective response tool, particularly during extreme mixing of brine with overlying seawater.
Description:
Chemical dispersant formulations typically provide maximum oil dispersion in waters between 30-40 ppt (parts per thousand) salt content, which encompasses typical ocean salinity (~34 ppt). As a result, most laboratory studies of oil dispersion effectiveness (DE) are conducted at low to average ocean salinity. Ocean salinity can vary locally from below 20 ppt during ice and snow melt, to extremely high (over 100 ppt) during freeze up periods or within natural brine pools in deeper waters. In this study, the influence of salinity on DE was evaluated using the baffled flask test (BFT) at a dispersant-to-oil ratio (DOR) of 1:25. Benchtop experiments were conducted with Alaskan North Slope (ANS) crude oil in the presence or absence of chemical dispersant at 5 and 25°C and varying salinities (0.2 to 125 ppt). In addition to DE as determined by BFT, oil droplet size distribution (DSD) and fluorescence intensity was measured via a LISST-100X particle size analyzer (Sequoia Scientific, Inc., Bellevue, WA) and ECO fluorometer (Sea Bird - WET Labs, Inc.; Philomath, OR), respectively. Results indicate that in the presence of dispersant, maximum DE occurred at 25ppt, and decreases above and below this salinity. Concentration of small droplets (<10 µm) was twice as high at 35ppt than at the other salinities in the presence of dispersant at 25°C. Treatments without dispersant did not vary significantly as a function of salinity. Flume tank experiments over a range of salinities support the lab scale results of DSD. These results provide a more comprehensive picture pertaining to the influence of salinity on dispersant usage at high salinities.