Whenever a major oil spill in the water occurs there is always a rush to contain it and clean it before it causes too much environmental damage. Over the decades, numerous methods of containing, cleaning and minimising the harmful effects of oil spills on the water have been developed and used, while just as many more have been proposed. The success of each method depends of course on such things as the weather conditions at the time, water currents, wind currents, the geography of the affected area, the type of oil spilt, how it was spilt(for example, from a tanker like the Exxon Valdez oil spill, or from a burst oil rig like the Gulf oil spill), and a host of other factors. Here is a small list of oil spill clean-up methods:
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| Oil spill near the beach |
The first method on this list requires that clean-up crews do absolutely nothing. As bizarre as it may sound sometimes this may be necessary in certain places affected by the spill, and is used if the other methods are not deemed to be successful. In such cases the natural environment will be relied upon to breakdown the oil and fix itself.
2. Use of Dispersants
Dispersant chemicals react with the oil to reduce it to small particles that can then be digested and made harmless by oil-eating bacteria. Most dispersants are applied to the surface of the water, and when fitted to aircraft can be applied over a large area. A few dispersants can even be applied underwater. The primary goal when using dispersants is typically to prevent oil from reaching the coastline. Almost all dispersants are toxic in of themselves, so must be used with caution and precision.
3. Mechanical and Manual Clean-up
These methods are long, labour-intensive and can't tackle as much oil as some of the other methods. However, they do allow a large number of unskilled volunteers to help out. When given gloves, shovels, and other tools, a large amount of workers would be able to clean oil that has washed up onto the shore. Mechanical clean-up involves the use of heavy machinery, particularly earth moving vehicles such as trucks and bulldozers. The drawback of these methods, and mechanical clean-up especially, is that it might damage the environment even more than the oil.
4. Use of Sorbent Materials
During the BP oil spill this low tech method was used to help recover the oil, and although not yet considered a conventional clean-up method it may become more common in future clean-up efforts. The function of these materials is of course to absorb and soak up the oil. Any of a large number of materials could be used for this purpose - many have been used and proposed, including sawdust, sand, straw, clay and even feathers. There are three types of sorbent material: synthetic, organic and inorganic. The drawback with this method is that these materials could clump after absorbing the oil, and then sink, making the oil even more difficult to collect.
5. Use of Boom
Most Clean-up operations use boom. Boom acts sort of like a net, shifting and collecting oil that floats on the water. Some boom can even act as an absorbant. It is necessary to clean boom quite often, as boom can collect with oil very quickly. A crew of 6 men can typically clean about 1000 feet of boom per day. As such, a great amount of manpower is used in cleaning, transporting, and disposing of boom.
6. Use of Skimmers
This is a mechanical system used to tackle oil on the water's surface. Considering that oil floats on water this is a rather effective method. The method uses boats and skimmers to skim oil off the top of the water and store it onboard inside tanks. A large amount of oil can be removed from the water this way. This method does have some limitations though. The skimming system can easily require repairs after hours of picking up oil, depending on the oil's consistency. This occurs because oil can thicken over time, and oil with such a thick consistency can clog the system, making it overall less effective.
7. Burning
This method simply requires the surface oil to be set alight and burnt. Doing so turns the oil into rather harmless residue that can easily be scooped up by hand on the beach, or with scooping devices. As desirable a method as this is, it's actual success depends on a variety of factors, such as how much time has passed since the oil was spilt, the weather conditions, how much water has mixed with the oil and so forth. When setting the oil alight, it is actually the vapour given off that catches fire, and not the actual oil. As such, ignition must be achieved when the fumes are still present in large enough quantities. One drawback of this method is that large amounts of noxious smoke are released into the atmosphere, potentially harming the environment further.
8. Other
There are a large number of alternative, non-conventional methods that have been tried or proposed for oil spill clean-ups. These range from the relatively common-sense, to the relatively insane. For example, one idea that made it to the proposal stage during the Gulf Oil Spill was the use of a nuclear weapon to seal the well. Proponents of the idea cited examples of the Soviets, between the 60s and 80s, having used nukes to seal oil wells ... on land. Of course, sealing oil wells that are underwater, using nukes, was thankfully seen by those in charge for the insane idea that it was. Other ideas that don't sound as if they were proposed by cartoon super villains include using common biological products such as beeswax, pine needles, hay and even human hair to soak up the oil. The beeswax in particular would act as storage for oil-eating bacteria, and was an idea implemented by a former NASA scholar named Doctor Joseph A Resnick during the Gulf Oil Spill. Biologist Paul Stamets coined the term mycoremediation to refer to another possible form of oil spill clean-up, one that utilises oil-eating fungi. He and his team experimented with oyster mushrooms, demonstrating that they are capable of breaking down diesel oil in soil to non-toxic compounds within 4 weeks.
In the future we should expect to see a more diverse range of oil spill clean-up techniques when the next major oil spill occurs.
