Process for the Removal of Spent Oil Dispersants from Test Water at the National Oil Spill Response Test Facility
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Process for the Removal of Spent Oil Spill Dispersants From Test Water at the National Oil Spill Response Test Facility Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC Canada) Environmental Technologies Program Final report presented to: United States Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service March 31, 2003 SAIC project number B444-000 Removal of Spent Oil Spill Dispersants from Ohmsett SAIC Canada (B444-000) Client: U.S. Minerals Management Service (PO85235) March 2003 _________________________________________________________________________________________ PROJECT REVIEW AND RELEASE FORM QUALITY ASSURANCE AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Report Title Process for the Removal of Spent Oil Spill Dispersants Report Date March 31, 2003 Report Number B444-000 Author(s) David Cooper Project Manager March 31, 2003 Name Title Date Peer Review: to ensure the deliverable complies with Project Plan Konstantin Volchek Senior Engineer March 31, 2003 Name Title Date Management Review: to ensure the deliverable complies with contractually specified requirements, applicable policies and procedures specified by our Quality Assurance and Management System and applicable regulations or legislation. Bill Wong Program Manager March 31, 2003 Name Title Date SAIC QUALITY POLICY "Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC Canada), Information, Environmental and Engineering Solutions Division employees are dedicated to the delivery of quality scientific and technical products and services. The highest priority is placed on the quality, timeliness and competitiveness of products and services. Objectives are pursued with a commitment to personal integrity and high professional standards. “An environment that encourages new ideas, high quality work and professional achievement is promoted. Business dealings will be fair and professional and commitments to business partners will be honoured. Employee conduct will enhance and preserve the reputation of the company." Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC Canada) i Removal of Spent Oil Spill Dispersants from Ohmsett SAIC Canada (B444-000) Client: U.S. Minerals Management Service (PO85235) March 2003 _________________________________________________________________________________________ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The funding for this report was provided by the United States Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service. Mr. James Lane was the Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative. This report has been reviewed by the U.S. Minerals Management Service staff for technical adequacy according to contractual specifications. The opinions, conclusions, and recommendations contained in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the U.S. Minerals Management Service. The mention of a trade name or any commercial product in this report does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Minerals Management Service. Finally, this report does not contain any commercially sensitive or proprietary data release restrictions and may be freely copied and widely distributed. To obtain additional copies please contact the U.S. Minerals Management Service or the Ohmsett facility at the following addresses: www.mms.gov www.ohmsett.com Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC Canada) ii Removal of Spent Oil Spill Dispersants from Ohmsett SAIC Canada (B444-000) Client: U.S. Minerals Management Service (PO85235) March 2003 _________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT Dispersants are an important tool in the response to oil spills. Proper testing of dispersants and the interpretation of results, however, is complicated by issues such as the weathering of oil (Fingas et al, 2001)(Moles et al, 2001) and by problems associated with scaling bench- top tests to a full response scenario. In order to fulfill the need to test dispersants on a large-scale and gain valuable scientific evidence of their efficacy and behaviour, the use of a large test tank such as the OHMSETT facility is a logical choice. The presence of even trace amounts of dispersants in the test tank, however, can affect the behaviour of standard test oils (Ross et al, 2000). This can influence subsequent dispersant tests or even alter the performance of other response techniques (e.g. booms and skimmers) that are also tested in the tank. As such, it is important to have an effective, reliable, quick and relatively inexpensive method of detecting and removing dispersants following their testing. This report looks at the development of two analytical techniques to detect trace quantities of dispersant in water, and a method of removing trace quantities of dispersant from the test tank using membrane separation. A suite of different membranes were selected based upon their documented compatibility to this task, and were tested at the bench scale. An additional step involving the use of Advanced Oxidation was also used as a possible polishing step. The testing protocols and results are presented in this report. Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC Canada) iii Removal of Spent Oil Spill Dispersants from Ohmsett SAIC Canada (B444-000) Client: U.S. Minerals Management Service (PO85235) March 2003 _________________________________________________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................ iii LIST OF TABLES................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................................vi 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................1 2 BACKGROUND ...............................................................................................................1 3 ANALYTICAL METHOD DEVELOPMENT ......................................................................1 3.1 Non-ionic Surfactants ...............................................................................................2 3.1.1 Glassware..........................................................................................................2 3.1.2 Chemicals..........................................................................................................2 3.1.3 Procedure..........................................................................................................2 3.2 Anionic Surfactants...................................................................................................2 3.2.1 Glassware..........................................................................................................2 3.2.2 Chemicals..........................................................................................................2 3.2.3 Instrumentation..................................................................................................2 3.2.4 Procedure – Calibration.....................................................................................3 3.2.5 Procedure – Sample Analysis ...........................................................................3 3.3 Nonionic Surfactants Summary ................................................................................3 3.4 Anionic Surfactants Summary ..................................................................................5 4 DISPERSANT REMOVAL MATERIALS AND METHODS ..............................................7 4.1 Nanofiltration Membranes.........................................................................................8 4.2 Ultrafiltration Membranes..........................................................................................8 4.3 Microfiltration Membranes ........................................................................................9 4.4 Membrane Separation Parameters.........................................................................10 4.5 Dispersants.............................................................................................................10 4.6 Bench-scale Membrane Testing System ................................................................10 Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC Canada) iv Removal of Spent Oil Spill Dispersants from Ohmsett SAIC Canada (B444-000) Client: U.S. Minerals Management Service (PO85235) March 2003 _________________________________________________________________________________________ 4.6.1 Flat Sheet Membrane Tests ............................................................................10 4.6.2 Tubular Membrane Tests ................................................................................13 4.7 Experimental Procedures .......................................................................................15 4.7.1 Preparation of water samples..........................................................................15 4.7.2 Flat sheet membrane filtration tests ................................................................15 4.7.3 Tubular membranes filtration tests ..................................................................16 4.8 Analyses .................................................................................................................16