Spreading and Retraction of Spilled Crude Oil on Sea Water

ABSTRACT Oil-spills due to release of crude oil from tankers, offshore platforms, drilling rigs, and wells, and of other products such as diesel and bunker fuel, if uncontrolled, may have serious and sometimes long term environmental impact. This paper presents a method for reducing the areal coverage of spilled oil at sea or over other aqueous surfaces. The method can be used to contain spilled oil more efficiently during or after placement of booms. The surface tension of seawater causes rapid spreading of spilled oil over large distances. However, spreading of oil can be instantly reversed by reducing the surface tension of the seawater by means of minimal quantities of surfactant. A low concentration of a water-soluble surfactant, such as a non-ionic surfactant with low critical micelle concentration, is recommended for maximum effectiveness for the least amount of surfactant. A controlled amount of the surfactant may be continuously deployed at the inner-wall of the boom. The spilled oil is caused to...