In Situ Burning of Spilled Oil in Freshwater Inland Regions of the United States

In situ burning is being utilized in the United States to remove oil from inland oil spills, usually when physical recovery is not feasible. Studies have found that habitats may recover from the effects of burning in less than a year under optimal conditions but recovery may take much longer. Policies authorizing the use of in situ burning across the US are very inconsistent. Some states use it routinely, but others do not allow it. Inland in situ burning can be a useful response tool and the federal government needs to issue more guidance to the states. Responders also need to collect more data on the environmental impacts of burning.     

Window-of-Opportunity for In Situ Burning

This paper is a summary of the fundamentals that influence the window-of-opportunity for in situ burning of oil at sea. It is a discussion of the variables and factors that influence the capabilities and limitations of in situ burning of oil. This includes the requirements for ignition and sustained burning and the factors that influence the quantity of residue and burn efficiency and the use of emulsion breakers.     

Introduction/Overview to In Situ Burning of Oil Spills

In situ burning is an oil spill response technique or tool that involves the controlled ignition and burning of the oil at or near the spill site on the surface of the water or in a marsh (see Lindau et al., this volume). Although controversial, burning has been shown on several recent occasions to be an appropriate oil spill countermeasure. When used early in a spill before the oil weathers and releases its volatile components, burning can remove oil from the waters surface very efficiently and at very high rates. Removal efficiencies for thick slicks can easily exceed 95% (Advanced In Situ Burn Course, Spiltec, Woodinville, WA, 1997). In situ burning offers a logistically simple, rapid, inexpensive and if controlled a relatively safe means for reducing the environmental impacts of an oil spill. Because burning rapidly changes large quantities of oil into its primary combustion products (water and carbon dioxide), the need for collection, storage, transport and disposal of recovered material is greatly reduced. The use of towed fire containment boom to capture, thicken and isolate a portion of a spill, followed by ignition, is far less complex than the operations involved in mechanical recovery, transfer, storage, treatment and disposal (The Science, Technology, and Effects of Controlled Burning of Oil Spills at Sea, Marine Spill Response Corporation, Washington, DC, 1994).However, there is a limited window-of-opportunity (or time period of effectiveness) to conduct successful burn operations. The type of oil spilled, prevailing meteorological and oceanographic (environmental) conditions and the time it takes for the oil to emulsify define the window (see Buist, this volume and Nordvik et al., this volume). Once spilled, oil begins to form a stable emulsion: when the water content exceeds 25% most slicks are unignitable. In situ burning is being viewed with renewed interest as a response tool in high latitude waters where other techniques may not be possible or advisable due to the physical environment (extreme low temperatures, ice-infested waters), or the remoteness of the impacted area. Additionally, the magnitude of the spill may quickly overwhelm the deployed equipment necessitating the consideration of other techniques in the overall response strategy (The Science, Technology, and Effects of Controlled Burning of Oil Spills at Sea, Marine Spill Response Corporation, Washington, DC, 1994; Proceedings of the In Situ Burning of Oil Spills Workshop. NIST. SP934. MMS. 1998, p. 31; Basics of Oil Spill Cleanup, Lewis Publishers, Washington, DC, 2001, p. 233). This paper brings together the current knowledge on in situ burning and is an effort to gain regulatory acceptance for this promising oil spill response tool.     

Environmental Effects of In Situ Burning of Oil Spills in Inland and Upland Habitats

In situ burning of inland and upland habitats is an alternative oil spill cleanup technique that, when used appropriately, may be more environmentally acceptable than intrusive manual, mechanical, and chemical treatments. There have been few published reports documenting the environmental effects of in situ burning in inland and upland habitats. Thus, this study, sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute, used two approaches to increase the knowledge base and improve the appropriate use of in situ burning: (1) detailed review of published and unpublished in situ burn case histories for inland and upland spills; and (2) summaries of fire effects and other information from the literature on fire ecology and prescribed burning. Thirty-one case histories were summarized to identify the state of the practice concerning the reasons for burning, favorable conditions for burning, and evaluations of burn effects. The fire ecology and effects summaries included information from the extensive knowledge base surrounding wildfire and prescribed burning (without oil) as a natural resource management tool, as well as fire tolerance and burning considerations for dominant vegetation types of the United States. Results from these two approaches should improve the application of in situ burning for inland and upland spills.     

The Reduction of Stranded Oil by In Situ Shoreline Treatment Options

The Svalbard Shoreline Field Trials quantified the effectiveness of sediment relocation, mixing, bioremediation, bioremediation combined with mixing, and natural attenuation as options for the in situ treatment of oiled mixed-sediment (sand and pebble) shorelines. These treatments were applied to oiled plots located in the upper beach at three experimental sites, each with different sediment character and wave-energy exposure. Systematic monitoring was carried out over a 400-day period to quantify oil removal and to document changes in the physical character of the beach, oil penetration, oil loading, movements of oil to the subtidal environment, biodegradation, toxicity, and to validate oil-mineral aggregate formation.The results of the monitoring confirmed that sediment relocation significantly accelerated the rate of oil removal and reduced oil persistence where oil was stranded on the beach face above the level of normal wave activity. Where the stranded oil was in the zone of wave action, sediment relocation accelerated the short-term (weeks) rate of oil loss from the intertidal sediments.Oil removal rates on a beach treated by mechanical mixing or tilling were not significantly higher than those associated with natural recovery. However there is evidence that mixing/tilling may have enhanced microbial activity for a limited period by increasing the permeability of the sediment.Changes in the chemical composition of the oil demonstrated that biodegradation was significant in this arctic environment and a bioremediation treatment protocol based on nutrient enrichment effectively doubled the rate of biodegradation. However, on an operational scale, the success of this treatment strategy was limited as physical processes were more important in causing oil loss from the beaches than biodegradation, even where this oil loss was stimulated by the bioremediation protocols.     

Toxicity Evaluation with the Microtox Test to Assess the Impact of In Situ Oiled Shoreline Treatment Options: Natural Attenuation and Sediment Relocation

Changes in the toxicity levels of beach sediment, nearshore water, and bottom sediment samples were monitored with the Microtox^® Test to evaluate the two in situ oil spill treatment options of natural attenuation (natural recovery--no treatment) and sediment relocation (surf washing). During a series of field trials, IF-30 fuel oil was intentionally sprayed onto the surface of three mixed sediment (pebble and sand) beaches on the island of Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway (78°56^′ N, 16°45^′ E). At a low wave-energy site (Site 1 with a 3-km wind fetch), where oil was stranded within the zone of normal wave action, residual oil concentrations and beach sediment toxicity levels were significantly reduced by both options in less than five days. At Site 3, a higher wave-energy site with a 40-km wind fetch, oil was intentionally stranded on the beach face in the upper intertidal/supratidal zones, above the level of normal wave activity. At this site under these experimental conditions, sediment relocation was effective in accelerating the removal of the oil from the sediments and reducing the Microtox^® Test toxicity response to background levels. In the untreated (natural attenuation) plot at this site, the fraction of residual oil remaining within the beach sediments after one year (70%) continued to generate a toxic response. Chemical and toxicological analyses of nearshore sediment and sediment-trap samples at both sites confirmed that oil and suspended mineral fines were effectively dispersed into the surrounding environment by the in situ treatments. In terms of secondary potential detrimental effects from the release of stranded oil from the beaches, the toxicity level (Microtox^® Test) of adjacent nearshore sediment samples did not exceed the Canadian regulatory limit for dredged spoils destined for ocean disposal.     

Modelling and Optimization of Uranium (VI) Ions Adsorption Onto Nano-ZnO/Chitosan Bio-composite Beads with Response Surface Methodology (RSM)

Nano-ZnO-chitosan bio-composite beads were prepared for the sorption of \({\text{UO}}_{2}^{{2+}}\) from aqueous media. The resulting nano-ZnO/CTS bio-composite beads were characterized by TEM, XRD etc. The sorption of \({\text{UO}}_{2}^{{2+}}\) by bio-composite beads was optimized using RSM. The correlation between four variables was modelled and studied. According to RSM data, correlation coefficients (R²?=?0.99) and probability F-values (F?=?2.24?×?10^??10) show that the model fits the experimental data well. Adsorption capacity for nano-ZnO/CTS bio-composite beads was obtained at 148.7 mg/g under optimum conditions. The results indicate that nano-ZnO/CTS bio-composite beads are appropriate for the adsorption of \({\text{UO}}_{2}^{{2+}}\) ions from aqueous media. Also, the suitability of adsorption values to adsorption isotherms was researched and thermodynamic data were calculated.     

Fabrication of Polypyrrole/Chitosan Nanocomposite Aerogel Monolith for Removal of Cr(VI)

Three-dimensional polypyrrole/chitosan nanocomposite monoliths are fabricated by polymerization of pyrrole in chitosan aqueous solution. The static polymerization of pyrrole monomer and the cross-linking of chitosan by glutaraldehyde occur simultaneously, resulting in the self-assembly of polypyrrole/chitosan nanocomposite aerogel monolith. The addition of methyl orange and glutaraldehyde and the static reaction play key roles in the formation of the self-standing aerogel monolith. The as-prepared monolith with larger specific surface area exhibits much better adsorption capability for Cr(VI) removal in comparison with that prepared without the addition of glutaraldehyde. The adsorption process and adsorption isotherms are found to well follow the pseudo-second-order and Langmuir models, respectively. Furthermore, this polypyrrole/chitosan nanocomposite monolith is stable and recyclable. About 73.5% of the initial adsorption capability is kept after eight adsorption–desorption cycles. The polypyrrole/chitosan nanocomposite monolith can be a promising candidate for the efficient removal of Cr(VI).