OIL POLLUTION&

RECOVERY

• INTRODUCTION• OIL SPILLS

• Oil Sources• Crude oil

• MAJOR MARINE OIL SPILL INCIDENTS• EFFECTS OF OIL SPILLS• STRATEGIES FOR OIL SPILL CLEANUP

A. Natural RecoveryB. Mechanical containment or recoveryC. Chemical and biological methods D. Bioremediation

• Control of Oil Spill in Oceans• OIL SPILLS ON LAND

• Effects of Land Oil Spills • Recovery of Land Oil Pollution

A. BioremediationB. Phytoremediation

• CONCLUSION• REFERENCE

SYNOPSIS

• Petroleum is used in manufacturing a wide variety of materials,

and it is estimated that the world consumes about 88 million barrels each day.

• The excess use of petroleum is exerting a negative impact on Earth's environment.

• Oil spills can have devastating effects.

(Agarwal V.K. Verma P.S. ,www.bioline.com,www.wikipedia.com)

INTRODUTION

• An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution.

• Another significant route by which oil enters the marine environment is through natural oil seeps.

• Oil spills may be due to release of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs and wells.

(www.wikipedia.com,seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov)

OIL SPILLS:-

• The graph shows how many millions of gallon of oil each source puts into the oceans worldwide each year.

OIL SOURCES:-

(www.imo.org)

• Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds.

• Main Compartments of the crude oil are: • Aromatics• Hydrocarbons • Naphthelene• Sulfur• N2, O2, • Na, Ni, Fe,Va

CRUDE OIL:-

• Light weight components (bp<150°C):

• High acute toxicity, e.g., benzene,toluene, xylene • Medium weight components (bp: 150-450°C):

• Moderate acute and chronic toxicity , e.g., naphthalene • High weight components( bp> 450°C):

•Moderate acute toxicity •High chronic toxicity, e.g., benzopyrene

(www.authourstream.com)

TOXIC SUBSTANCES IN OIL

TYPES OF OIL CAUSING POLLUTION

Type of oil Features:

Type-1 Type-2 Type-3 Type-4

Weight Very Light Oils 

Light Oils  

Medium Oils 

Heavy Oils

Density Highly volatile  

Moderately volatile

Lightly volatile Non-volatile

Toxicity Highly toxic (soluble) compounds

Moderately toxic (soluble) compounds

 ------------------  -----------------

Impact Localized, severe Longerm, severe

Long-term, severe

Long-term, severe 

Cleanup Not possible  

Very effective Most effective if conducted quickly 

Difficult under all conditions 

Examples Jet Fuels, Gasoline, Kerosene

Diesel, Light Crudes, Gas Oil

Most Crude Oils, Arabian Light Crude Oils

Heavy Crude Oils, No. 6 Fuel Oil, Heavy Fuel Oil

MAJOR MARINE OIL SPILL INCIDENTSSpill / Vessel Location Dates

Torrey Canyon United Kingdom, Isles of Scilly March 18, 1967Amoco Cadiz France, Brittany

United States, Prince William Sound, Alaska

March 16, 1978March 24, 1989Exxon Valdez  

MV Braer United Kingdom, Shetland

United Kingdom, Pembrokeshire

January 5, 1993

February 15, 1996Sea Empress  

Nestucca United States December 23, 1988Gulf War oil spill Iraq, Persian Gulf January 23, 1991

Deepwater Horizon   United States, Gulf of Mexico April 20, 2010 – July 15, 2010

Mumbai-Uran pipeline spill

India, Mumbai, Arabian Sea January 21, 2011

Nigeria oil spill Nigeria, Bonga Field December 21, 2011

Sundre, Alberta oil spill  Canada, Sundre June 8, 2012(www.wikipedia.com)

THE EFFECTS OF OIL SPILLS

i. Plants most affected by oil spills grow near the shore or in marshes.

ii. Mangrove trees growing along shores or in marshes and coral reefs can suffocate in heavy oil pollution.

iii. Any effect on these plants weakens the entire food chain, and massive loss of phytoplankton in large oil spills will have a profound effect on

ON MARINE PLANTS

Fig:-The Effects of Oil Spills on Aquatic Plants

(www.eHow.com)

• These are the following strategies used for cleaning of marine oil spills:-

A. Natural RecoveryB. Mechanical containment C. Chemical and biological methods D. Bioremediation

STRATEGIES FOR OIL SPILL CLEANUP

A. NATURAL RECOVERY

• Mechanical containment or recovery is the primary line of defense against oil spills. It includes containment and recovery equipment :-

• 1.Booms:- A boom specially designed for pollution response is a floating,physical barrier, placed on the water tocontain, divert, deflect, or exclude oil.

B. MECHANICAL CONTAINMENT

• 2.Barriers/Spill Berms:-

A physical barrier is placed across an area to prevent oil from passing.

• 3.Skimming:-

They are placed at the oil/water interface to recover or skim oil from the water’s surface.

• 4.Vacuum:-

A vacuum unit is attached via a flexible hose to a suction head that recovers free oil.

• 5.Sediment Reworking/Tilling:-

The oiled sediments are root-tilled, disked, or otherwise mixed using mechanical equipment or manual tools.

Fig:-Vacuum

• Chemical and biological methods can be used in conjunction with mechanical means for containing and cleaning up oil spills.

• 1.Dispersants:-

Dispersants reducethe oil/water interfacial tension,thereby decreasing the energy needed for the slick to break intosmall particles .

C. CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL METHODS

• 2.Solidifiers:-

Chemical agents (polymers) are applied to oil at rates of 10-45 percent or more, solidifying the oil in minutes to hours.

(www.env.gov.bc.ca/eemp)

1. Biostimulation:-• Microbes:- Certain enzymes produced by microbes attack hydrocarbons molecules, causing degradation. • Degradation of hydrocarbons can take place only if all other basic

requirements of the microbes are met.

i. Nutritional Requirements: The nutritional requirements of carbon to nitrogen 10:1 and carbon to phosphorus 30:1.

D. BIOREMEDIATION

ii. Environmental Requirements for Microbial Growth Microbial growth and enzymatic activity are affected by stress from the following factors, Such as:-

• Oxygen• Water• Variables: pressure, salinity, and pH.• Concentration: The concentration of pollutants is an

important factor.

2. Bioaugmentation:- The genes which enable to feed on hydrocarbons are found on four types of plasmids, referred to as XYL, NAH, OCT, and CAM present in the Pseudomonas species.

Fig: - Construction of Superbug (www.bioline.com)

• 1. Doubled-hulled ship

• 2.Prevent oil from entering drains,sewage systems, pipe and cable ducts,ventilation ducts of rail tunnels etc.

• 3.Use dams made from soil, sand bags or absorbents to protect inlets.

• 4.Seal drain gratings with plastic bags filled with water and sand.

CONTROL OF OIL SPILL IN OCEANS

Fig:-A Doubled Hulled Ship

(www.library.thinkquest.org)

OIL SPILLS ON LAND

A FEW CAUSES OF OIL SPILLS INLAND:-

Fig:-Illegal dumping Fig:-Road accidents

Fig:-Insufficient bounding Fig:-Pipeline leaks(www.oilspillsolution.org)

• On Flora:-• Crude oil affects germination and growth of some plants. • Crude oil creates anaerobic condition in the soil, results of which

are toxic to plant growth.

• On Fauna:-• Volatile components implicated in the aggravation of asthma,

bronchitis and accelerating aging of the lungs. • Affect genetic integrity resulting in carcinogenesis, mutagenesis

and impairment of reproductive capacity.

EFFECTS OF OIL SPILLS ON LAND

• Inland spills can be very much more difficult to cleanup than marine spills.

A. Bioremediation of Oil Spills on Lands:- 1. In situ:-

This technology embraces the use of aerobic micro organisms to degrade the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PHC) and other derivatives to carbon dioxide and water, or other less toxic intermediates in the site of origin.

RECOVERY OF LAND OIL POLLUTION

i. BIO-SPARGING

Fig:-Bio-sparging

2. EX- SITU:-I.COMPOSTING & LAND-FARMING

Fig:-Composting Fig:-Land-farming

II.SLURRY PHASE

Fig:-Slurry phase bioremediation

• This is an approach in which plants are used in cleanup of contaminated environments. • Plants resistant to crude oil toxicity such as black poplar and

willows, miscanthus grass (elephant grass)• Dioscorea sp can metabolise petroleum hydrocarbons such as n-

hexadecane.

B. PHYTOREMEDIATION

(www.bioline.com)

• The soil binding grass must be planted and the large trees must be placed along the banks.

• The mining ways must be improved along with their transportation.

• The industrial wastes must be dumped in the low lying areas.

CONTROL OF LAND OIL POLLUTION

• Oil pollution is one of the major type of the pollution contaminating water bodies and lands, that has many adverse effects on the flora and fauna. So, there is need to have some knowledge about the chemical processes involved in crude oil-ecosystem interactions, the public and environmental health issues associated with oil spills. This will help to control oil pollution and reduce problems caused.

CONCLUSION

• Book source:-• Agarwal V.K. Verma P.S. (2008), Pollution, Enviornmental Biology (Principles of

Ecology), S.Chand & Company Ltd., 1st Edition, Page. No.-493-517

• Web source:-• www.bioline.com• www.env.gov.bc.ca/eemp• www.eHow.com• www.greenlivingtips.com• www.imo.org• www.itopf.cm • www.library.thinkquest.org• www.microbewiki.kenyon.edu • www.oceana.org • www.oils.gpa.unep.org• www.oilspillsolution.org• www.seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov• www.upendrats.blogspot.in• www.water-pollution.org.uk/oilpollution.html• www.wikipedia.com

REFERENCES