Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
Images of damaged coastlines, oily sheens, containment booms and endangered wildlife are part of every offshore oil spill.
And while a response team arrives and the clean up gets underway, UBC Okanagan researchers are now exploring how to effectively handle the waste created from that spill.
As part of a Multi-Partner Research Initiative sponsored by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, UBCO engineers are conducting new research to help the oil spill response industry and its regulators enhance response preparedness and efficiency in Canadian waters. A new research study, published recently in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, conducts a lifecycle assessment of oil spill waste mitigation and how to properly dispose of the refuse.
"We never want to experience any sort of spill, but when it happens we need to be prepared," explains Dr. Guangji Hu, a School of Engineering postdoctoral fellow and report co-author. "If a spill is on land, contaminated soil can be removed and remediated off-site, but that simply isn't feasible on the water."
Using a lifecycle assessment approach, the researchers developed a framework to help decision-makers effectively manage the waste of an offshore oil spill cleanup. The lifecycle assessment quantifies the environmental impacts associated with products and services at different points of their life cycle.
The lifecycle assessment compared various strategies for treating wastes—including its collection, segregation and sorting, initial treatment, secure transportation of waste materials, resource recovery and the final disposal of all soiled materials—as well as the resulting environmental impacts, particularly on scenarios situated in Western Canada.
Addressing maritime oil spills is a complex process with many variables including type of oil, tides and water composition, explains Saba Saleem, an engineering master's student with UBCO's Lifecycle Management Lab.
"Every spill is unique, but with this new tool we can identify the barriers, gaps and bottlenecks in oily waste management during an offshore oil spill response and enable decision makers to make more informed choices," says Saleem, who is also the study's lead author.
[...] "Analyzing these challenging situations in a holistic manner through lifecycle assessment allows us to develop a framework that encompasses nearly every possible scenario of offshore oil waste management," Dr. Hu adds. "As a result, stakeholders have one more tool to address these spills quickly and effectively."
(Score: 4, Informative) by acid andy on Sunday August 21 2022, @12:59AM (3 children)
The answer wasn't in the summary but from TFA:
Doesn't sound like a perfect solution.
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.
(Score: 3, Funny) by legont on Sunday August 21 2022, @02:08AM (2 children)
Eventually, bugs eat it. End of story.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday August 21 2022, @03:25AM
And eventually they'll die and rot, and after millions of years, they'll turn back into oil. The circle of life. :-}
(Score: 3, Interesting) by acid andy on Sunday August 21 2022, @10:34AM
Surely the logical thing to do would be to pump the stuff into the bottom of a depleted, disused oil well.
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by stretch611 on Sunday August 21 2022, @11:32AM (2 children)
Not to be snarky... (which is a change from my usual posts)
I always thought that the oil would be collected, possibly combined with other oil slated for recycling (like from oil changes) and sent back to be refined again.
After all, crude from the ground has to be filtered and cleansed to remove water and any other contaminates. Then it gets separated by quality before it starts the refinement process.
Why can't oil captured from a spill be re-processed again the same way.
I'm not a chemist so I am far from the best person to ask, but to me, anyway, it sounds like the logical thing to do. I mean, it might not be the best oil; but it would seem strange to me with all the various petroleum products, plastics, and chemicals that the oil becomes only suitable for waste, just because it spills.
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Sunday August 21 2022, @11:47AM (1 child)
Different contaminants?
Quite rare to pump seagull feathers from deep underground.
-- hendrik
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Monday August 22 2022, @01:59AM
True, but I doubt seagull feathers would be difficult to remove in any filtration process.
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P