1. Fate of residual oils during remediation activities after the Wu Yi San oil spill.
- Author
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Loh, Andrew, Yim, Un Hyuk, Ha, Sung Yong, An, Joon Geon, and Shankar, Ravi
- Subjects
OIL saturation in reservoirs ,OIL spills ,SEDIMENTATION & deposition ,PARTICULATE matter ,ENVIRONMENTAL remediation - Abstract
Abstract In this study, the fate of residual oils was investigated during remediation activities for a year after the Wu Yi San oil spill. Microscope observations showed that relatively large amounts of oil-suspended particulate matter aggregate (OSA) were formed. Negatively buoyant OSA was the dominant form (>95%), followed by neutrally (~5%) and positively buoyant (<1%) forms. To elucidate the dominance of negative buoyancy OSA, physicochemical properties of the mineral and residual oils were identified. Chemical analysis showed that the weathering percentage of residual oils was 43.7 ± 2.59%, which was the driving factor for sedimentation of OSA. As the density of oil increased with weathering stages, the density of OSA also increased simultaneously. These results showed that, during mechanical remediation activities, resurfaced residual oils can form negative buoyancy OSA which tends to sink and transfers oil contaminants from intertidal to benthic environments. Highlights • Resuspended residual oils formed oil-suspended particulate matter aggregate (OSA) during remediation activities. • Dominant shape of OSA was oil coated particle with negative buoyancy. • Highly weathered oil was the main cause of negative buoyancy OSA. • Physical remediation activities can transfer residual oil from intertidal to subtidal in the form of OSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2019
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