Spills of Emulsified Fuels Risks and Response (2002) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Pages 1-6
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From page 1... ...
The extensive reserves and limited market for bitumen allow BITOR to offer long-term contracts at fixed rates significantly lower than many other fuels. Orinoco bitumen is highly weathered and too viscous to flow; thus, BITOR developed many innovative methods to extract the bitumen and produce a fuel that can be used in power generation.
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These unique properties make the use of standard spill response techniques less effective in tracking, containment, recovery, and cleanup of Orimulsion spills. BITOR recognized these problems and has spent significant time and resources in conducting studies of the environmental behavior, fate, and effects of Orimulsion spills and in developing specialized techniques to support spill response plans.
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From page 3... ...
The breakdown of the emulsion when diluted with water releases a cloud of bitumen droplets. In fresh water, the surfactants attached to the bitumen droplets retard coalescence of the bitumen; however, an increase in water salinity to about 6 parts per thousand renders the surfactants ineffective.
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From page 4... ...
Studies of Orimulsion using standard techniques for describing equilibrium partitioning theory indicate that the maximum theoretical concentration that could be seen by exposed organisms cannot exceed the effective initial concentration of dissolved PAH in the neat fuel (15-30 parts per billion)
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From page 5... ...
Further studies are needed to better document the role of PAH partitioning in Orimulsion bioassay tests or in comparison tests involving other fuels. Most of the studies conducted to date to evaluate environmental effects from possible spills have focused on water column exposures of marine fish and invertebrates.
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From page 6... ...
EFFECTIVENESS OF SPILL RESPONSE STRATEGIES Because Orimulsion is pre-dispersed, the initial response strategy will be to track the suspended plume and monitor for any surfaced tarballs. The tarry nature of the surfaced bitumen requires specialized skimming, pumping, and handling systems, and such systems have been prototyped and tested under limited conditions.
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