Preparation of a Photosensitive Composite Carbon Fiber for Spilled Oil Cleaning

This paper deals with preparing a functional composite carbon fiber with a large surface area for spilled oil cleaning. The composite fiber consisted of photosensitive oxide particles and polymer-derived carbon. It was made by co-spinning the polymer and metallic compounds. After heat treatment at high temperatures, an activated carbon fiber containing oxide particles was obtained. The particles were found distributed in the fiber and at the surface of the fiber. The composite fiber was found sensitive to sunlight. Fiber mats made of the composite fiber possessed a high surface area for oil absorption and removal. Cobalt(II) titanate particles were obtained from the reaction of titanium dioxide and cobalt oxide. The reaction happened in situ through the hydrolysis of metallic compounds in the spun fiber. The titanium dioxide and cobalt(II) titanate particle-containing fibers demonstrated the photoactivity in the visible light spectrum. It was concluded that particle-containing composite carbon fiber mats can be prepared successfully by co-electrospinning. Due to the oleophilic property and the high active surface area, the composites are suitable for spilled oil cleaning through fast absorption.

Quasi-Static Flooding Analysis Method of a Damaged Ship Considering Oil Spill and Cargo Load

When a ship is damaged at sea, it is important to predict its behavior as well as whether it is to sink or not. If the ship comes to an equilibrium, the equilibrium position and time should be estimated; otherwise, the time to sink should be estimated. Furthermore, flooding analysis should be carried out not only during the design stage of the ship for preventive reasons, but also after an accident for a better investigation of its causes. In addition, flooding analysis methods that can provide predictions in case of an accident are of particular importance, as there is no time for the required calculations in an emergency. For this purpose, a quasi-static flooding analysis method for the damaged ship in the time domain is proposed in this study. There are a number of studies in which the equilibrium position and time were estimated by flooding analysis. However, most of them have not considered the air pressure effect in fully flooded compartments, and the method of determining the fluid volume in these compartments was not accurate. In the present study, the virtual vent and accumulator method are used to calculate the reference pressure in the fully flooded compartments, and the compartment shape is considered by using polyhedral integration. Also, spilled oil and solid cargo items from the damaged ship are taken into account for realistic flooding analysis. Finally, the damage stability criteria were checked not only in the final state, but also during the entire time of the flooding, as the intermediate states can be more hazardous than the final state. To validate the feasibility of the proposed method, it was applied to a naval ship, which is considerably more stringent for damage stability. As a result, we checked the availability of this study.

Photooxidation of Heavy Crude Oil Spilled in Tropical Soil

Photooxidation was an important weathering process for spilled oil at the on tropical soil following a heavy crude oil spill, leading to the rapid formation of polar or oxygenated hydrocarbons, little is known photo-oxidation of hydrocarbons in soils. This study described the effect of solar radiation on heavy crude oil contaminated tropical soil. Physicochemical parameter of heavy crude oil showed the following values; API was 21.9, which was within the range of heavy crude oil, the density of the heavy crude was 0.8952 g/cm3. We examined the effect of ultraviolet light on crude oil using gas chromatography method for day 0, 14, 28 and 42. The results show a remarkable reduction in the total petroleum hydrocarbon [4664.56 mg/l to 1548.85 mg/kg] and poly aromatic hydrocarbon content of heavy crude oil [37.44 mg/kg to 2.12 mg/kg] from day zero to day 42. The saturated compounds was resistant, but the aromatic compounds were particularly sensitive to photo oxidation. This study provides quantitative measures of oil degradation under relevant field conditions, and improves our understanding of the role of sunlight on the fate of spilled oil on natural soil biota.

Effects of Chemical Dispersant on the Surface Properties of Kaolin and Aggregation with Spilled Oil

After oil spills occur, dispersed oil droplets can collide with suspended particles in the water column to form the oil-mineral aggregate (OMA) and settle to the seafloor. However, only a few studies have concerned the effect of chemical dispersant on this process. In this paper, the mechanism by which dispersant affects the surface properties of kaolin as well as the viscosity and oil-seawater interfacial tension (IFTow) of Roncador crude oil were separately investigated by small scale tests. The results indicated that the presence of dispersant impairs the zeta potential and enhances the hydrophobicity of kaolin. The viscosity of Roncador crude oil rose slightly as the dosage of dispersant increased while IFTow decreased significantly. Furthermore, the oil dispersion and OMA formation at different dispersant-to-oil ratio (DOR) were evaluated in a wave tank. When DOR was less than 1:40, the oil enhancement of dispersant was not significant. In comparison, it began to contribute when DOR was over 1:40 and the effect became more pronounced with the increasing DOR. The adhesion between oil droplets and kaolin was inhibited with the increasing DOR. The size ratio between oil droplets and particles is the significant factor for OMA formation. The closer the oil-mineral size ratio is to 1, the more difficultly the OMA forms.