Abstract

One of the most dangerous components of an oil spill is the emulsion that forms between the spilled oil and surrounding seawater, as this submerged emulsion can last for many years and is difficult to remediate. This research identified materials that could accelerate the separation of such emulsions, allowing oil to float to the oceanic surface, increasing the efficacy of traditional oil spill removal techniques. This experiment was motivated by an earlier observation that certain plastic containers appeared to destabilize the oil/water emulsions stored within them. Emulsion instability as a result of contact with different plastics was measured using three different tests: 1) visual separation of a column of emulsion over time, 2) growth rate of a drop of emulsion, and 3) microscopic imaging. Open source image analysis software was used to facilitate the large-scale batch processing of data. Twelve plastics were analyzed and compared to glass. Based on regression analysis, plastics that destabilize oil/water emulsions are 1) highly branched, and 2) likely to be at the extreme ends of the polarity scale. These findings were used to develop emulsion destabilizing prototypes; specifically, geometrically complex shapes of alternating polar and non-polar polymers with multiple nucleation sites for emulsion destabilization. The most effective of these prototypes decreased overall emulsion stability by 25%, and decreased the time for the emulsion to begin visually separating by 86%. This research can be used to effectively limit the dangers posed by oil spill emulsion, without the harmful environmental impacts caused by chemical surfactants.