Difference between revisions of "Oil Sills and Biological Gelling Agents"
(Oil Sills and Biological Gelling Agents) |
(No difference)
|
Revision as of 21:11, 9 October 2009
Oil Sills and Biological Gelling Agents
Various ways are utilized to take care of oil spills. These include booms,
skimmers, and biological and gelling agents. Each has a job assisting in
cleaning up and accelerating the rate that bodies of water and the environment
can be taken back to their pre-spill condition.
This article will first touch upon gelling agents, which are chemical
solidifiers. A chemical reaction occurs when these agents come into contact with
oil and create solids resembling rubber. When the spill is on a small scale, the
gelling agents can be administered manually and left by themselves to come
together. When the spill is large in scale, the gelling agents are placed in the
oil spill and merged together with intense power accomplished by streams of
water. When the oil begins to thicken and gel, it is taken from the water. It
can then be skimmed off the top or suctioned out. Every so often, this thickened
oil is combined with fuel oil and used again.
Gelling agents are utilized in smooth to medium choppy seas. The waves are
accommodating; supply enough power to join the chemicals with the oil. For this
to happen, vast amounts of gelling agents must be added. At times, triple the
amount of the spill. If the spill is quite expansive, say three million gallons,
it is not reasonable to stockpile, transport, or utilize the vast amount of
chemicals required to gel or thicken the oil.
The next way to take care of an oil spill is by way of biological agents.
Biological agents are chemicals and organisms which speed up the natural pace in
which oil decomposes or biodegrades. This method employs bacteria, fungi, and
yeast to digest intricate compounds into less intricate outputs to acquire
nourishment and energy. Oil biodegrades at a slow-moving pace and can take years
for oil to be removed from a marine setting. Coastlines and marshlands are very
susceptible to damage, and very quick action needs to be taken to remove oil
spills.
Bioremediation science can increase the biodegradation procedure by including
things like bacteria or fertilizer to certain areas. Two methods of
bioremediation that are presently in use in our country for the decontamination
of oil spills are seeding and fertilization.
What is fertilization and how is it used in bioremediation? It is commonly
referred to as nutrient enrichment and is a method that puts nutrients such as
nitrogen and phosphorus into a polluted area, like an oil spill. There are
normally determinate reserves of nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen which
occur naturally and it is these nutrients that regulate the development of the
indigenous bacterial populace. With the addition of more nutrients, bacteria
multiply quickly, possibly speeding up the digestion of the oil spill.
Another method of bioremediation is seeding. Bacterial strains are added into
the indigenous oil because not all bacteria habitually occur there. The main
intent behind this is to maximize the bacterial populace which can break down
the oil spill.
Other agents are utilized to decontaminate oil spills. All of these agents are
required to be licensed. Licensing is based on the toxicity levels. Specific oil
spill cleanup agents (OSCA) work better in different environmental settings.
By: Bradley Skierkowski