Our Marine Oil Spill Research Group works on technologies to recover oil from an ocean spill faster and in higher amounts, by focusing on the material surfaces used for the recovery process. We are working with the Minerals Management Service (part of the U.S. Dept. of Interior) and equipment manufacturers, to develop novel materials to improve recovery efficiency. We also have full capabilities to characterize both the oils and the material surfaces. Our research in this area is primarily being carried out by Kristin Clark .

The initial work focused on the use of advance materials to improve the recovery of oil spills in marine environments. The work was funded by the Minerals Management Service. The report from this work is:

Tailored Polymeric Materials to Increase Oil Spill Recovery
in Marine Environments

Overview of work

We have completed the field tests of our technological improvements at Ohmsett, the National Oil Spill Response Test Facility. This work was funded by the Minerals Management Service.

The report from these tests is:

Optimization of Oleophilic Skimmer Recovery Surface:
Field Testing at Ohmsett Facility.

Recent work on oil spill recovery using novel grooved skimmers was completed at the CRREL faclity in New Hampshire. The report from this work is:

Cold Climate Oil Recovery using grooved skimmer drums

Peer-reviewed publications from this work include:

V. Broje and A. A. Keller. 2006. Improved Mechanical Oil Spill Recovery Using an Optimized Geometry for the Skimmer Surface. Environ. Sci. Tech. 40(23):7914-7918

V. Broje and A. A. Keller. 2007. Interfacial interactions between hydrocarbon liquids and solid surfaces used in mechanical oil spill recovery. J. Colloid & Interface Science, 305:286–292, doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2006.09.078

V. Broje and A. A. Keller. 2007. Effect of Operational Parameters on the Recovery Rate of an Oleophilic Drum Skimmer. Journal of Hazardous Materials, in press

Keller, A.A., V. Broje, K. Setty. 2007. Effect of Advancing Velocity and Fluid Viscosity on the Dynamic Contact Angle of Petroleum Hydrocarbons. Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering, doi: 10.1016/j.petrol.2006.12.002

Separation of Asphaltenes

Oil is diluted with n-Heptane, asphaltenes precipitate out of solution and are filtered through a funnel filter assembly.

Dynamic Contact Angle Analyzer

The Automated Dynamic Contact Angle Analyzer (Cahn Radian 315 by Thermo) is used for surface tension and dynamic contact angle measurements. This system can be applied to many types and geometries of solid surfaces including single fibers as small as 0.1 mm in diameter. Some characteristics of the Cahn Radain 315 DCA are:

Measurement of surface tension of liquids

Wilhelmy Plate Method

In the standard method, a thin plate (made of a high surface energy material) is lowered to the surface of a liquid and the downward force directed to the plate by the liquid (e.g.oil) is measured. Surface tension is measured as the force divided by the perimeter of the plate.

DuNouy Ring Method

In this method a ring (standard perimeter about 60 mm) is pulled through the liquid/air interface and the maximum downward force directed to the ring is measured.

Measurements of dynamic contact angle between liquids and solids

Wilhelmy plate method

The tensiometric method for measuring contact angles measures the forces that are present when a solid sample is brought into contact with a test liquid. Once the forces of interaction, geometry of solid and surface tension of the liquid are known, the contact angle may be calculated.

Evaporation of liquids

Büchi Rotary evaporator (Rotavapor RE 111) and Büchi Wather Bath are used to evaporate light fractions of petroleum products and to separate petroleum mixtures under vacuum. Haake A80 cooling system is used to cool down the air inside the precipitation column. Vapors that escaped precipitation are collected in refrigerated vapor trap (RVT 4104 by Savant) set at -110°.

Emulsification/mixing of liquids

Emulsification frame allows up to 6 liters of liquid to be mixed at the time. To prepare oil-in-water emulsion, each funnel is filled with 500 ml of seawater and 50 ml of oil and mixed at a speed of 40 rpm for 24 hours.

Viscosity measurements

Viscosity is measured using a Brookfield viscometer (DV-II+ Pro). The principle of operation of the DV-II+Pro is a rotating spindle (immersed in the test fluid) attached to a calibrated spring. The viscous drag of the fluid against the spindle is measured by the spring deflection. Spring deflection is measured with a rotary transducer. The measurement range of a DV-II+Pro (in centipoise or milliPascal seconds) is determined by the rotational speed of the spindle, the size and shape of the spindle, the container the spindle is rotating in, and the full scale torque of the calibrated spring.

Liquid composition analysis (GC-MS)

Specifications for the Varian Gas Chromatograph - Mass Spectrometer (Saturn 2100T) can be found here.

Liquid composition analysis (HPLC)

Shimadzu High Pressure Liquid Chromatographer with fluorescence (RF-10A XL) and diode array (SPD-M10A) detectors.

Analysis of solid surfaces

(available through other UCSB laboratories)

Veeco Optical Profilometer allows measuring roughness of the surface.

Environmental Electron Scanning Microscope

Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM) with X-ray microanalysis and a cold stage allows high-magnification imaging of surfaces and analyze surface composition.

Controlled Temperature Workspaces and Sample Storage

Capable of controlling +/- 1 oC from -5 to +25 oC.