Two-Year Research Program on Employing Chemical Herders to Improve Marine Oil Spill Response Operations

摘要

Research on using chemical herding agents to thicken oil slicks in pack ice conditions for in situ burning has proved successful. Herding agents applied to the water surface around the edge of spills of fluid oil in broken ice conditions cause the oil slicks to contract and thicken to ignitable thicknesses. As a result of that success, a two-year program of R&D was undertaken to determine if there was a potential to use herding agents to improve other areas of marine oil spill response, specifically: Employing herding agents in drift ice to enhance recovery of spilled oil with skimmers; Using herders to clear oil from marsh areas; and, Applying chemical herders around oil slicks on the open ocean to improve the operational effectiveness of subsequent dispersant application.