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Federal Government Technical Report Properties, Composition And Federal Government Technical Report Properties, Composition and Marine Spill Behaviour, Fate and Transport of Two Diluted Bitumen Products from the Canadian Oil Sands Environment Canada Emergencies Science and Technology Fisheries and Oceans Canada Centre for Offshore Oil, Gas and Energy Research Natural Resources Canada CanmetENERGY November 30, 2013 ISBN 978-1-100-23004-7 Cat. No.: En84-96/2013E-PDF Information contained in this publication or product may be reproduced, in part or in whole, and by any means, for personal or public non-commercial purposes, without charge or further permission, unless otherwise specified. You are asked to: • Exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced; • Indicate both the complete title of the materials reproduced, as well as the author organization; and • Indicate that the reproduction is a copy of an official work that is published by the Government of Canada and that the reproduction has not been produced in affiliation with or with the endorsement of the Government of Canada. Commercial reproduction and distribution is prohibited except with written permission from the author. For more information, please contact Environment Canada's Inquiry Centre at 1-800-668-6767 (in Canada only) or 819-997-2800 or email to [email protected]. Cover Photos: © Author, Environment Canada © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of the Environment, 2013 Aussi disponible en français Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................................ 5 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................ 7 2.0 Literature Review of Diluted Bitumen and Synthetic Bitumen Spills, Behaviour and Use of Chemical Countermeasures............................................................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Properties and Composition of Diluted Bitumen Products from the Canadian Oil Sands ... 11 2.1.1 Diluted Bitumen Products ..................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Fate and Behaviour of Diluted Bitumen Products and Related Heavy Oils in the Marine Environment ....................................................................................................................................................................... 15 2.2.1 Fate and Behaviour of Diluted Bitumen Products in Spills ..................................................... 15 2.2.2 Fate and Behaviour of Orimulsion in Spills ................................................................................... 17 2.2.3 Fate and Behaviour of Heavy Oils in Spills ..................................................................................... 18 2.3 Use of Dispersants on Potential Spills of Diluted Bitumen and Related Heavy Oils ............... 21 2.3.1 Use of Dispersants on a Diluted Bitumen Spill ............................................................................. 21 2.3.2 Use of Dispersants on Orimulsion ..................................................................................................... 21 2.3.3 Use of Dispersants on Heavy Fuel Oils ............................................................................................. 21 3.0 Physical Characteristics and Chemical Composition of Diluted Bitumen Products .................... 25 3.1 Samples .................................................................................................................................................................. 25 3.2 Methods .................................................................................................................................................................. 25 3.2.1 Evaporative Weathering ........................................................................................................................ 25 3.3 Characterization of Diluted Bitumen Products ...................................................................................... 26 3.4 Physical Properties of Diluted Bitumens .................................................................................................. 27 3.4.1 Properties of Diluted Bitumens .......................................................................................................... 31 3.4.2 Pan Evaporation of Diluted Bitumens .............................................................................................. 33 3.4.3 Simulated Distillation of Diluted Bitumens ................................................................................... 34 3.4.4 Tendency to form Water-in-Oil Emulsions .................................................................................... 36 3.5 Chemical Composition of Diluted Bitumens ........................................................................................... 36 4.0 Oil Weathering and Buoyancy in Marine Conditions ............................................................................... 42 4.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................... 42 4.2 Materials and Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 43 4.2.1 Oil Types ....................................................................................................................................................... 43 4.2.2 Evaporation ................................................................................................................................................. 43 1 4.2.3 Photo-oxidation ......................................................................................................................................... 44 4.2.4 Oil-Water Mixtures .................................................................................................................................. 44 4.2.5 Oil-Water-Sediment Mixtures ............................................................................................................. 45 4.3 Results ..................................................................................................................................................................... 46 4.3.1 Evaporative Weathering ........................................................................................................................ 46 4.3.2 Photo-oxidative Weathering ................................................................................................................ 47 4.3.3 Mixing with Salt Water ........................................................................................................................... 48 4.3.4 Mixing with Salt Water and Sediment .............................................................................................. 50 4.4 Comparisons with Literature and Historical Spills .............................................................................. 54 5.0 Wave Tank Studies: The Fate and Behaviour of Selected Diluted Bitumen Products in Natural Sea States and Environmental Conditions .................................................................................................................. 56 5.1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................................................... 56 5.2 Materials and Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 56 5.2.1 Wave Tank Studies ................................................................................................................................... 56 5.2.2 Oil, Dispersant and Mineral Fines Application ............................................................................. 56 5.2.3 Wave Tank In-situ Measuring Devices ............................................................................................ 57 5.2.4 Lab Analysis of Seawater Samples .................................................................................................... 57 5.3 Results and Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 58 5.3.1 Synthetically Weathered Dilbit Products ....................................................................................... 58 5.3.2 Wave Tank Experiments ........................................................................................................................ 58 5.3.3 Surface Water Profiling .......................................................................................................................... 61 5.3.4 Subsurface Water Column and Dispersant Effectiveness ........................................................ 64 6.0 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................................ 73 7.0 Research Initiatives ................................................................................................................................................ 76
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