The Surface Tension between Oil and Water - Essay Example

?Oil and Gas Management Affiliation: The environment is conceived to be the naturalhabitat for organisms and wildlife in general. Therefore, the human population should actively ensure that there is minimum pollution possible to the environment. In relation to the protection of the environment, many countries still have a vital role to play in ensuring that pollutants are kept at bay and that the necessary control measures to pollution are installed. Oil drilling is an essential element in many oil producing countries but is turning out to be a serious concern for most environmentalists. Based on a case study in Brazil, the Pantanal case is identified as a key point as to why the horizontal directional drilling can be the best alternative, as opposed to conventional drilling techniques (Pisupati, 2009, p.63). Methods of oil production in most cases determine the impacts on the surroundings and the possible consequences to those living in it. The most common methods available relate to the conventional methods of drilling and the much advanced method called the risk management plans to oil drilling. Petroleum produced in any other method that is not conventional is called unconventional. The most common types of unconventional ways include refining of extra heavy soils and oil sands using extremely heavy metal and high levels of energy. Besides these are the oil shale and thermal depolymerization (Patin, 2009, p.86). The former relates to extractions of shale gas from shale formations using current technology while the latter involves obtaining petroleum from waste products and decomposing sites. Another basic form of unconventional methods is the conversion of coal and gas using synthetic fuel techniques and advanced technology. Unconventional methods of drilling oil are still in their beginning phase and have come out of the need by the advanced nations to cater for the demand and balance it with the supply for continuous use. However, these methods have had their possible dangers especially to human health and the impacts to the environment (U.S. Geological Survey, 1996, p.3). Drilling Conventional or otherwise the traditional methods pose enormous losses and environmental impacts on the subjects. Firstly, they destroy the formation of the earth’s crust and core. The drilling of the well to create room for exerting pressure so as to extract the oil is by itself noise pollution and especially to the people living around the mining sites and more so to those undertaking the drilling works (Boesch and Rabalais, 2000, p.117). Potential environmental disasters arise in the sense that there are threats posed to the wildlife living nearby that has to flee to create room for the drilling process; displacement. This in turn threatens the survival of wildlife and especially with the availability of predators thus causing extinction of some species. Drilling requires broad land occupation and the possible environmental impacts would be release of harmful air into the environment, contamination of ground water from uncontrolled gas, fluids and spills and even uncontrolled waste discharges and leakages. Fluids and flow-backs contain radioactive materials which are hazardous to health and pollutants to the environmental (Shaw, Beven, Chappell and Lamb, 2010, p.243). Ground water if polluted with methane for instance leads to destruction of buildings and potassium chlorine cause salinity in drinking water. The wells once dug are left behind in the long run when the yield is below the targeted amounts or when the production costs exceed the profits obtained. This poses a potential environmental threat again to the wildlife surrounding such vicinities with death should there be a fall out. The core of the earth is normally unstable, and the natural caused will always act to balance the pressure that mounts deep internally. When these oil wells are dug so deep, regions of imbalance are created within the crust and therefore these can lead to shaking of the earth, or what many would refer to as earthquakes or earth tremors (Gilbert and Perl, 2010, p.162). Deep within the crust of the earth lays the lava that will seek to flow should there be a point of weakness. The wells thus pose a danger to the lives of all as they create regions of weakness for ease of lava to flow through. Horizontal directional techniques are thus the best alternatives to drilling than the conventional forms since they lack these significant impacts. Oil spillage When oil spills the oil generally floats on water because it is lighter than water. The environmental impacts that this have are more damaging than can be conceived and thus the need to curb this oil spills. The spills usually have substantial impacts on marine larvae, birds, mammals and fish. Among the most affected are the vast numbers of sea mammals in the oceans that face extinction and deaths. Birds if exposed to oil that has spilled fail to repel water and their feathers lack the insulating ability which eventually leads to death. The figure below represents this scenario: There are many advanced ways of controlling oil spills and ensuring that they have minimal impacts to the human health and the environment. The main aspect to check here is the careful selection of the needed equipment and the efficient use of the tools which are selected based on the type of oil and conditions at the spill site (Cheremisinoff and Davletshin, 2010, p.104). Damage to sea and water shores can be controlled by ensuring that oil spills are controlled on time and that the most appropriate recovery equipment is used. Among the common equipment include mechanical forms such as the use of barriers, booms, skimmers, natural and synthetic sorbent instruments all of which capture and store the spills until much later where they can be disposed safely (Darley and Heinberg, 2004, p.51). Chemical processes are also used together with biological means to ensure clean-up of the environment at sea. This includes the use of dispersing and gelling agents to ensure that the leaked oil does not get to the shores and to the natural habitats in sensitive areas. The physical aspects include pressure washing, wiping with sorbent materials, bulldozing and raking along the shore lines to facilitate the inefficient natural processes of evaporation and oxidation (Balson, Craddock, Dunlop and Frampton, 2002, p.219). Scare tactics are linked with the protection of the wildlife especially the birds and other animals so as to ensure that get further away from the spills. The equipment used in the scare tactics include; floating dummies, scare cans, balloons filled with helium which are meant to clear off the birds. Oil booms A boom is a length of fabric that has a buoyant filter stitched to the side to ensure that it can float. The most valuable thing to do after an oil spill is to ensure that the risk towards natural resources is less. This is done by limiting the spread of the spill to cover large areas. A fast and skilful deployment of a boom to contain the oil is provides an efficient way to meet this objective. Since the oil floats on the water, it rises to the surface where it can be collected by the boom or floating fences (Friedland, Relyea and Courard-Hauri, 2011, p.97). Other heavy chains are then inserted into the bottom to contain it in water and make it sink. Most of them are brightly coloured to ensure appropriate visibility and recovery by crew. It contains a freeboard that is the above surface which reduces splash-over and the skirt that prevents escape of oil beneath it. They are environmentally safe and stimulate community involvement. Skimmers and Separators These are put to use once the booms have separated and concentrated oil in a thick layer above the surface of the water. When conditions are favourable, mechanical inputs are used such as vacuuming, skimming and separation. Skimmers are slow but effective and used especially in calm waters where they provide a surface to oil to cling on. They take advantage of the fact that oil is adhesive and cling to available surfaces (Marsden, 2011, p.106). In this case, they use rotation, suction and gravity to drive motion as they clean the surface and repeat the process through the provision of a large surface for oil to stick to. Dispersants These are chemical compositions that reduce the surface tension between oil and water. They are used to create a disruption in the oil slick surface and are actually a composition of solvents and other additives. The molecules in the additives are two sided which includes water compatible molecules and oil compatible molecules. When the oil droplet is linked to the nearby water molecules, a natural agitation occurs that makes the two to separate and pull apart forming smaller droplet (Sarni, 2011, p.71). Unlike the thick portion of oil on the water that floats and covers a wide area, these small droplets become heavy and eventually sink. This method is ineffective as the oil that has sunk still has impacts to the underwater sea lives. Since the floating oil has more impacts to water animals than the sinking oil, this method is used as a trade-off between the impacts noting that the oil spills afloat are much worse in consequences. Other commonly used procedures include burning, Sorbents, bioremediation techniques and shoreline clean-up procedures (Hocking, 2006, p.213). The figure below shows an oil-spill clean-up process: References Balson, T., Craddock, H. A., Dunlop, J. and Frampton, H. (2002).Chemistry in the Oil Industry VII. California: University of California Press. Boesch, D. M and Rabalais, N. N. (2000).Long-term Environmental Effects of Offshore Oil and Gas Development. New York: McGraw-Hill. Cheremisinoff, N. and Davletshin, A. (2010).Emergency Response Management of Offshore Oil Spills: Guidelines for Emergency Responders. New Jersey: Wiley & Sons. Darley, J. and Heinberg, R. (2004).High Noon for Natural Gas: The New Energy Crisis. London: McGraw-Hill. Friedland, A., Relyea, R. and Courard-Hauri, D. (2011).Environmental Science: Foundations and Applications. Washington DC: Government Press. Gilbert, R. and Perl, A. (2010).Transport Revolutions: Moving People and Freight without Oil. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hocking, M. B. (2006).Handbook of Chemical Technology and Pollution Control, 3rd Edition, Third Edition. Washington DC: Government Press. Marsden, W. (2011).Fools Rule: Inside the Failed Politics of Climate Change. New York: SAGE. Patin, S. V. (2009). Environmental Impact of the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Pisupati, S. V. (2009). Environmental Protection: Your Power and Energy. New York: Oxford University Press. Sarni, W. (2011).Corporate Water Strategies. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Shaw, M. E., Beven, K. J., Chappell, N. A. and Lamb, R. (2010).Hydrology in Practice, Fourth Edition. London: SAGE. U.S. Geological Survey. (1996). Record of decision for Fontenelle natural gas infill drilling projects environmental impact statement Sweetwater and Lincoln counties, “Wyoming”SuDoc I 1.98:F 73(3). Read More