Effectiveness of Plant-Derived Sorbents for the Remediation of Low-Energy Intertidal Wetlands Contaminated by Oil Spills

Chung, Seungjoon; Suidan, Makram T.; Venosa, Albert D.

Effectiveness of Plant-Derived Sorbents for the Remediation of Low-Energy Intertidal Wetlands Contaminated by Oil Spills

2012

Chung, Seungjoon | Suidan, Makram T. | Venosa, Albert D.

The use of plant-derived sorbent was investigated as a remediation strategy for low-energy intertidal wetlands contaminated by crude oil spills. Effectiveness of plant-derived sorbent as a wicking agent was evaluated in microcosms simulating intertidal wetlands. Microcosms were designed to impose three different oil penetration depths (0.25, 0.5, and 1.0 cm), two different tidal amplitudes (±5 and ±10 cm above oil-contaminated surface), and two different types of sorbents (raw bagasse and hydrophobic-treated bagasse). We observed that the use of plant-derived sorbent was beneficial not only in removing oil but also in preventing further contamination. Oil penetration depth and tidal amplitude both negatively influenced the effectiveness of the sorbent. Effectiveness of the hydrophobic-treated sorbent was always higher than that of untreated one at any given oil penetration depth and tidal amplitude. Effectiveness of hydrophobic-treated sorbent was relatively low compared to that of raw bagasse. The most plausible explanation is that oil wicking mainly occurred during low tide. From a cost-effectiveness point of view, we suggest the use of raw bagasse immediately after an oil spill for remediation of low-energy intertidal wetlands. The observed results imply that this technique has potential to stimulate biodegradation by wicking oil out of contaminated intertidal wetlands subsurface to the aerobic zone where biodegradation can take place.

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