Sample

Essay on Oil Spill Cleaning Operations

Natural degradation of huge amounts of crude oil takes its own time. However, as long as the oil continues to float over the water surface, it harms the aquatic life and as such cleaning up of oil spills becomes very important. This is done as follows:

(1) Confining the Oil Spill to a Limited Area:

It is easier to deal with an oil spill if it is confined to a smaller area. Attempts are also made to prevent the oil slick from reaching the shore line or shallow areas as it is these regions which are much affected and it is in these regions that maximum diversity of life forms occurs.

For this purpose barriers or booms are placed around the oil slick. Once confined to a limited area away from the shore-line, spilled oil may even be left as such for the nature to take care of. In turbulent sea, however, crude petroleum may splash out or pass through from under the floating booms to contaminate fresh areas. When the volume of the spill is large it is often a stupendous task to confine it to a limited area.

(2) Mechanical Removal of Oil from Water Surface:

Once the spill has been contained by the barriers or mechanical booms it is usually sucked up with the help of skimmers. Skimmers are mechanical devices which remove the top layers of the oil contaminated water.

(3) Burning the Crude Petroleum on Sea Surface:

Burning of oil on the surface of water has generally been found to be less successful because more volatile fraction evaporates quickly while water below removes heat faster and the fire is extinguished. Burning of oil slick also leads to extensive air pollution.

(4) Use of Absorbents:

Absorbents also facilitate an oil slick cleanup operation. They absorb the oil and prevent it from spreading further. Cheap natural materials like saw dust, pine bark, peat moss, straw or synthetic absorbent like polyethylene,, polystyrene, polyurethane etc. are spread over the oil layer. A large quantity of oil...