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Project Number 617
Date of Summary September 23, 2008
Subject Employing Chemical Herders to Improve Oil Spill Response Operations
Performing Activity S.L. Ross Environmental Research Ltd.
Principal Investigator Mr. Ian Buist
Contracting Agency Minerals Management Service
Estimated Completion February 28, 2009
Description The objective of this research program is to extend the research on herders in pack ice conditions, in open water and in salt marshes. This proposed project is a continuation of TAR Project 554 “Mid-Scale Test Tank Research on Using Oil Herding Surfactants to Thicken Oil Slicks in Broken Ice”. There are two tasks in this project.

Task 1: Using Herders to Enhance Mechanical Recovery of Oil in Pack Ice

Field deployment tests of booms and skimmers in broken ice conditions in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea highlighted the severe limitations of conventional containment and recovery equipment in even trace ice (Bronson et al. 2002). The main problem is that booms, deployed to collect and concentrate oil for effective skimming, also collect and concentrate ice pieces that quickly render the skimmers ineffective. The research on using herding agents to thicken slicks for in situ burning has shown that they can significantly contract and thicken oil among ice, without concentrating the surrounding ice. This could be beneficial to mechanical recovery. In fact, as a skimmer removes oil from the center of a herded slick, the action of the herding agent may cause the slick to continuously contract towards the skimmer, eliminating the need to move the skimmer around to contact all the oil. However, it has been observed that the active ingredient in herding agents (the surfactant) renders sorbent pads less hydrophobic and their water retention increases considerably. This could be a significant detriment to oleophilic skimmers such as drums, discs and rope mops whose recovery surfaces contact herding agent. This should not be an issue with other skimmers types such as weirs and vacuums.

Experiments will be conducted in the laboratory and at Ohmsett – The National Oil Spill Response Test facility to explore the capabilities and limitations of using herding agents to thicken oil in loose pack ice for recovery by skimmers.

Task 2: Using Herders to Clear Oil Slicks in Salt Marshes

A parallel to the situation in pack ice exists in salt marsh environments: access for mechanical recovery equipment is almost non-existent due to concerns over damaging the marsh substrate. This task will involve preliminary laboratory experiments in small-scale simulated marshes to determine if chemical herders might play a role in clearing spilled oil from the marsh.
Progress The experiments associated with Task 1: Using Herders to Enhance Mechanical Recovery of Oil in Pack Ice will be conducted at Ohmsett in February 2009.

Small scale experiments associated with Task 2: Using Herders to Clear Oil Slicks in Salt Marshes are being conducted in Ottawa, ON the last two weeks of September 2008.

 

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Last Updated: 09/23/2008, 01:33 PM

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