Oil as a source of environmental pollution. How does environmental pollution occur with oil and petroleum products?
The environmental consequences of oil spills are difficult to take into account, since oil pollution disrupts many natural processes and relationships, significantly changes the living conditions of all types of living organisms and accumulates in biomass.
Oil is a product of long-term decomposition and very quickly covers the surface of the waters with a dense layer of oil film, which prevents the access of air and light.
US Security Agency environment(US Environmental Protection Agency) describes the effect of an oil spill as follows. 10 minutes after one ton of oil is in the water, an oil slick is formed, the thickness of which is 10 mm. Over time, the thickness of the film decreases (to less than 1 millimeter), while the stain expands. One ton of oil can cover an area of up to 12 square kilometers. Further changes occur under the influence of wind, waves and weather. Typically, the slick drifts according to the will of the wind, gradually breaking up into smaller spots that can move considerable distances from the spill site. Strong winds and storms speed up the film dispersion process.
The International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association points out that during disasters there is no immediate mass death of fish, reptiles, animals and plants. However, in the medium and long term, the impact of oil spills is extremely negative. A spill hits organisms that live in the coastal zone the hardest, especially those that live on the bottom or surface.
Birds that spend most of their lives on the water are most vulnerable to oil spills on the surface of water bodies. External oil contamination destroys plumage, tangles feathers, and causes eye irritation. Death is the result of exposure cold water. Medium to large oil spills typically cause the death of 5,000 birds. Bird eggs are very sensitive to oil. Small amounts of some types of oil may be sufficient to cause death during the incubation period.
If the accident occurred near a city or other settlement, then the toxic effect increases because oil/petroleum products form dangerous “cocktails” with other pollutants of human origin.
According to the International Bird Rescue Research Center, whose specialists are involved in rescuing birds affected by oil spills, people are gradually learning to save birds. Thus, in 1971, experts from this organization managed to save only 16% of birds that became victims of the oil spill in San Francisco Bay - in 2005, this figure was close to 78% (that year the Center cared for birds on the Pribilof Islands, Louisiana, South Carolina and in South Africa). According to the Center, in order to wash one bird, it takes two people, 45 minutes of time and 1.1 thousand liters of clean water. After this, the washed bird requires from several hours to several days of heating and adaptation. In addition, she should be fed and protected from stress caused by the shock of being coated with an oil film, close contact with people, etc.
Oil spills kill marine mammals. Sea otters, polar bears, seals, and newborn fur seals (which are distinguished by the presence of fur) are the most commonly killed. Fur contaminated with oil begins to mat and loses its ability to retain heat and water. Oil, affecting the fat layer of seals and cetaceans, increases heat consumption. In addition, oil may cause irritation to the skin, eyes and interfere with normal swimming ability.
Oil that enters the body can cause gastrointestinal bleeding, kidney failure, liver intoxication, and blood pressure disorders. Vapors from oil vapors lead to respiratory problems in mammals that are near or in close proximity to large oil spills.
Fish are exposed to oil spills in water by consuming contaminated food and water, and by coming into contact with oil during spawning movements. The death of fish, excluding juveniles, usually occurs during serious oil spills. However, crude oil and petroleum products have a variety of toxic effects on different types fish Concentrations of 0.5 ppm or less of oil in water can kill trout. Oil has an almost lethal effect on the heart, changes breathing, enlarges the liver, slows growth, destroys fins, leads to various biological and cellular changes, and affects behavior.
Fish larvae and juveniles are most sensitive to the effects of oil, spills of which can destroy fish eggs and larvae located on the surface of the water, and juveniles in shallow waters.
The impact of oil spills on invertebrate organisms can last from a week to 10 years. It depends on the type of oil; the circumstances under which the spill occurred and its impact on organisms. Invertebrates most often die in the coastal zone, in sediments or in the water column. Colonies of invertebrates (zooplankton) in large volumes of water return to their previous (pre-spill) state faster than those in small volumes of water.
Plants in water bodies die completely if the concentration of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (formed during the combustion of petroleum products) reaches 1%.
Oil and petroleum products disrupt the ecological state of soil covers and generally deform the structure of biocenoses. Soil bacteria, as well as invertebrate soil microorganisms and animals are not able to efficiently perform their most important functions as a result of intoxication with light fractions of oil.
Such accidents not only affect animals but also vegetable world. Local fishermen, hotels and restaurants suffer serious losses. In addition, other sectors of the economy are also facing problems, especially those enterprises whose activities require large quantities water. If an oil spill occurs in a fresh body of water, Negative consequences is experienced both by the local population (for example, it is much more difficult for public utilities to purify the water entering the water supply networks) and agriculture.
The long-term effect of such incidents is not precisely known: one group of scientists is of the opinion that oil spills have a negative impact for many years and even decades, another - that the short-term consequences are extremely serious, but in a fairly short time the affected ecosystems are restored.
Damage from large-scale oil spills is quite difficult to calculate. It depends on many factors, such as the type of oil spilled, the state of the affected ecosystem, weather, ocean and sea currents, time of year, the state of local fishing and tourism, etc.
The material was prepared based on information from open sources
3.1. Air pollution.
The smell of petroleum products in the form of gasoline vapors, as well as products of its incomplete combustion, is known to everyone. Acute cases of poisoning by petroleum vapors are quite rare. Chronic exposure is not considered to be a factor that improves health. And although it, as a rule, does not give acute and obvious effects, the local population, forced to inhale these aromas, protests quite actively. Typical situations are the vicinity of oil refineries, oil storage facilities, oil depots, gas stations, motor vehicles, and large parking lots.
Much more serious problems arise when a situation arises when the interaction of volatile hydrocarbons included in oil and petroleum products, nitrogen oxides and ultraviolet radiation leads to the formation of smog. In such cases, the number of seriously injured people can be in the thousands.
3.2. Water pollution.
The most striking and well-known cases of the sad consequences of the impact of oil and petroleum products on the environment is water pollution. The most severe case is severe contamination with a thick layer in areas of oil spills. This can happen due to tanker accidents and pipeline ruptures. Horrible pictures of animals and birds drowned in oil have been repeatedly demonstrated in media mass media. If they do not die from suffocation or drown, they will not be able to live in a heavily oil-contaminated state, due to the difficulty in moving and the loss of thermoregulatory functions by their fur and feathers.
In some cases, a thick layer of petroleum products on the water surface can be flammable. There have been cases of settling ponds catching fire at oil refineries. Oil and petroleum products can spread over the surface of water in a thin layer, covering huge surfaces. Everyone has seen rainbow films of oil on the surface of rain streams flowing from the surface of roads. Such films sharply impede the supply of oxygen from the atmosphere and reduce its content in water. In addition, petroleum products in water have a direct toxic effect on fish and sharply worsen its taste. Floating long time Through water, animals and birds, due to such a film, can collect a sufficient amount of oil products on themselves so that this leads to serious contamination of fur and feathers.
3.3. Soil contamination.
Unlike water, oil, as a rule, does not form large spreads over the soil surface. A certain danger is posed by the possibility of burning soils saturated with oil and petroleum products.
The main ones ecological problems when oil hits the ground, they are associated with groundwater. After seeping to their surface, oil and petroleum products begin to form lenses floating on the water. These lenses can migrate, causing contamination of water intakes and surface waters. One of the largest examples of this kind is the situation in the vicinity of Grozny in Chechnya, under which a huge lens of oil and oil products formed at a depth of several meters. Similar problems are observed in the vicinity of a number of oil refineries, oil depots, and military airfields.
Oil pollution suppresses the photosynthetic activity of plants. This primarily affects the development of soil algae. Depending on the dose of H entering the soil and the preservation of the soil and plant cover, various reactions of soil algae are observed: from partial inhibition and replacement of some groups by others to the loss of individual groups or the complete death of the entire algal flora. An indicator of extreme conditions on the border between zones of tolerance and resistance is a change in the species composition of algae. The dynamics and degree of self-purification within the tolerance zone are well reflected by the number of algae.[...]
Oil pollution They also affect living organisms by shielding solar radiation and slowing down the renewal of oxygen in water. As a result, plankton, the main food product of marine life, stops reproducing. Thick oil films often cause the death of seabirds.[...]
Pollution of the World Ocean with petroleum products during their production and transportation is one of the most serious problems, since stable fields of oil pollution are observed precisely in transportation zones (sea routes) and in production areas (mainly off the coasts and in the shelf zone).[...]
Soil contamination with N and NP leads to a sharp disturbance in the soil microbiocenosis. A complex of soil microorganisms responds to oil pollution after short-term inhibition by increasing their total numbers and increasing activity. First of all, this applies to hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms, the number of which increases sharply compared to uncontaminated soils. The community of soil microorganisms becomes unstable. As N and OP decompose in the soil, the total number of microorganisms approaches background values, but the number of oil-oxidizing bacteria (for a long time, for example, in the soils of the southern taiga up to 10-20 years) significantly exceeds the same groups in unpolluted soils.[...]
In case of oil pollution, the organization of observations is carried out depending on the complexity of the relief, geochemical and hydrological conditions. Sampling points are combined into a system of profiles in the direction of movement of surface runoff from spill sites to places of intermediate or final accumulation. The minimum number of profiles is 3. At the same time, a series of exploration wells are laid, which are also located on profiles along the flow of groundwater and must cross the intense area of pollution.[...]
Incidents of oil pollution are widespread in many industrialized countries. Typically, this type of pollution accounts for 30-40% of total groundwater pollution and in scale negative impact oil ranks alongside the leading chemical pollutants - compounds of nitrogen, sulfur, chlorine and phosphorus. There are examples from domestic and foreign practice where underground water intakes were put out of action for decades as a result of contamination with petroleum products. At some sites, pollution is almost impossible to eliminate with acceptable technical and economic indicators. The effectiveness of combating oil pollution of groundwater is significantly reduced due to insufficient knowledge of the mechanism of pollution by oil products and poor development of methods for its indication.[...]
Monitoring of oil pollution is a separate section of the environmental quality management system, which includes the collection and accumulation of information about the actual parameters of the main components of the environment and forecasting changes in their quality over time. [...]
Elimination of oil pollution is a very expensive undertaking. Thus, about $8 million was spent on an environmental restoration project in Alaska in connection with the Exxon Valder tanker accident in 1989, while the coastal strip over 73 miles was twice treated with 500 tons of a drug containing nutrients and microbial growth stimulants , which accelerated the biodegradation of oil hydrocarbons by 3-5 times.[...]
Collection and removal of oil pollution from the surface of the water is carried out by skimmers (separators) various designs and absorbent materials.[...]
Another characteristic of oil pollution is its ability to trap and concentrate other pollutants, such as heavy metals and pesticides (DDT). When oil is distributed over a large area, the likelihood of various reactions occurring will greatly increase, since substances soluble in oil have the opportunity to participate in a variety of chemical processes.[ ...]
There is evidence of the effect of oil pollution on the microflora and enzymatic activity of soils. It causes a significant weakening of biochemical processes and negatively affects the development of compensatory mechanisms of autoregulation of biochemical processes. Most soil enzymes react to oil pollution by reducing their activity, and the correlation between the activity of soil enzymes and soil respiration is disrupted. [...]
| 6.20 |
To localize the accumulation of oil pollution in limited areas of the water area, in order to avoid spreading of oil over the surface of a large area, floating barriers - booms - are used. Booms are also used as a preventative measure around ships bunkering with fuel and when unloading tankers, to prevent the spread of contaminants in the event of unexpected damage to hoses and other parts of pumping devices, as well as accidental overflow of cargo and fuel containers during loading. Mobile side fences are used, towed by motor ships, and the more common fixed ones, installed by boom installers at a specific location. Mobile booms collect oil from the surface of the water at a speed of 1-1.5 knots with an opening angle of the boom branches of 18-20°. These data also apply to the collection of oil by fixed side barriers installed on rivers, canals and other areas with constant currents. [...]
One of the main sources of oil pollution in the marine environment is maritime transport, primarily tankers. The world operates a gigantic tanker fleet with a total capacity of more than 120 million gross register tons - this is more than a third of the capacity of all maritime transport vehicles. Now there are 230 ships with a carrying capacity of 200 to 700 thousand tons each. This represents a colossal potential danger for the waters of the World Ocean. According to known data, due to accidents on tankers, approximately 5% of all transported oil enters the seas and oceans. It is estimated that if 200 thousand tons of oil enters the Baltic Sea, it will be turned into a biological desert.[...]
In this regard, it should be noted that oil pollution differs from many other anthropogenic impacts in that it does not produce a gradual, but, as a rule, a salvo load on the environment, causing a quick response. When forecasting the consequences of such pollution, it is not always possible to say with certainty whether the ecosystem will return to a stable state or will be irreversibly degraded. Therefore, in all activities related to the elimination of the consequences of pollution and the restoration of damaged ecosystems, it is necessary to proceed from the main principle: not to cause more harm to the ecosystem than what has already been caused.[...]
These are environmental consequences oil pollution and ways to restore the quality of the natural environment.[...]
As global experience in combating oil pollution in the marine environment shows, the greatest difficulty arises in determining the cost of damage resulting from pollution. The cost of damage varies significantly depending on the volume, geographic location and circumstances of the spill, time of year and hydrometeorological conditions, type of spilled oil and nature coastline, as well as many other factors, such as biomass losses, decreased fish catches and damage of an “intangible” nature that are difficult to prove. Therefore for economic analysis damage is almost impossible to use anything other than the cost of cleaning up the marine environment and coastline from oil pollution.[...]
One of the globally dangerous sources of oil pollution in the marine environment is damage to onshore and underwater pipelines through which oil or oil products are transported. Damage is a consequence of wear and tear (due to untimely repairs) or violations of operating rules. According to the international environmental organization Greenpeace, for this reason, more than 15 million tons of oil are spilled in Russia every year, and almost half of the accidents occur at underwater crossings of rivers and in coastal areas of the seas.[...]
Modern concept hydrocarbon pollution of the World Ocean, based on new scientific data (Pavlov, Shadrin, 1999), indicates that ships make up a small share of the total discharge of hydrocarbons into the sea. The bulk of petroleum products enter the sea from the shore and through the atmosphere, with storm drains (Mironov, 1992). Possessing great persistence, oil remains in sea water for a long time, is transported over long distances from discharge sites, penetrates into the thickness of sea water, settles to the bottom, accumulates in bottom sediments and then floats to the surface of the sea again, simulating fresh oil pollution. Petroleum hydrocarbons are highly toxic compounds.[...]
Based on spatial characteristics, sources of pollution are divided into point (wells, barns), linear (pipelines, water conduits) and area (oil fields, fields). The significance of pollution sources should be assessed taking into account the duration of their operation over time. Depending on the duration of action, systematic and temporary sources of pollution are distinguished. The level of environmental pollution by industrial waste is assessed by the multiple of excess of maximum permissible concentrations (MPC) of substances entering natural objects. According to rough estimates, most of Hydrocarbon pollution accounts for 75% of the atmosphere, 20% is recorded in surface and groundwater and 5% accumulates in soils. The difference in the physical and chemical properties of pollutants and the variety of forms of their migration determine the extreme complexity of the mechanism of oil pollution and its insufficient knowledge.[...]
Natural waters are one of the objects of oil pollution and, along with the atmosphere and lithosphere, experience technogenic impact during the exploration and production of hydrocarbons. In this case, first of all, there is a decrease in water quality as a result of pollution with oil, field wastewater, chemicals, and drilling fluids.[...]
During the electrochemical cleaning of soil from oil contaminants, the pH value changes significantly along the axis of the sample in the direction from the anode to the cathode (Fig. 6.1.13). In the anodic zone, the pH value decreases to 1 or less, and in the cathodic zone it increases to 12. At the same time, pH changes in the greatest range in the most humid (I 0), oil-saturated (1UM) or oil-saturated (1UN) clay soils of various mineral compositions. The middle part of the sample remains almost neutral in pH.[...]
Industrial tests were carried out to eliminate oil pollution in a ravine in the area of high-pressure flares of zone No. 2 on the territory of OJSC Novoufimsky Oil Refinery (Bashkortostan) using the biological product “Rodotrin” and phytomeliorants.[...]
High ability to recover under the influence of oil pollution in river species. saliys. in comparison with dryad (Dryas octopetaia) and blueberry (vaccinium uliemosum) was also noted by foreign authors (Holt. 1987) /17/.[ ...]
An industrial test of a method for eliminating oil pollution using the biological product "Rodotrin", biogenic additives (biotrin and ammophos) and phytomeliorants (Sudanese sorghum and brome) was carried out in a ravine in the area of high-pressure flares in zone No. 2 on the territory of OJSC "Novoufimsky Oil Refinery" ( NUNPZ) of the Republic of Bashkortostan. A suspension of the biological product “Rodotrin” was obtained at an industrial installation at the Blagoveshchensk Biochemical Plant, Blagoveshchensk, Republic of Bashkortostan. The consumption of the liquid suspension of the biological product "Rodotrin" was 1.0 -1.3 l/m2, depending on the degree of contamination. The biological product was applied by sprinkling from a tank truck with active drainage. After 40 days. throughout the entire territory, additional bioadditives for microorganisms were added: biotrin at the rate of 8-10 g/m2 and ammophos - 1-2 g/m2 (dry). At the same time, loosening was carried out. On an area of 90 m2, a mixture of grasses was sown: bromegrass and alfalfa, taken in a 1:1 ratio.[...]
The monomolecular layer of oil reduces gas transmission by 50%, and oil pollution prevents normal gas and heat exchange between the atmosphere and hydrosphere. These disturbances can cause uncontrollable changes in the planet's climate, and the massive death of phytoplankton, which, according to some estimates, produces about 70% of oxygen, can lead to serious imbalances in the oxygen balance on Earth. At least 80% of natural water samples contain petroleum products in varying concentrations.[...]
Natural processes of restoration of natural systems after oil pollution take a very long time, and the main agents of their self-purification are natural destructors - hydrocarbon-oxidizing microorganisms, plants and a number of insects. [...]
A significant advantage of pumping when removing monolithic oil contamination is the possibility of subsequent use of the extracted oil products. A number of Russian institutes (for example, Irkutsk University) have developed stationary, mobile and self-propelled installations that allow pumping oil and petroleum products from technogenic deposits without significant reduction groundwater. When cleaning soils and groundwater from heavy pollution with oil and petroleum products through pumping under favorable hydrogeological conditions, it is actually possible to extract about 30% of the pollution contained in the massif.[...]
A particularly pressing problem at present is the fight against oil pollution in marine areas and agricultural lands, which is often impossible to eliminate either by mechanical or chemical methods.[...]
[ ...]
Others are known around the world major disasters sea vessels that caused oil pollution of the World Ocean.[...]
Petroleum products have the most harmful effect on the fisheries of reservoirs when oil pollution is released into them in the spring during a flood, i.e., during spawning. Fish eggs are saturated with oil products and, enveloped in suspended substances, which are present in large quantities in the water at this time, settle to the bottom in quiet places and die.[...]
Thus, the winter period is the most unfavorable in terms of eliminating oil pollution of the reservoir. Requirements for the treatment of wastewater containing oil during this period should be especially high.[...]
of the world's oceans is exceeded. Another important point is that the quality of oil pollution has changed. With ship bilge water, from oil refineries, and as a result of washing operations on tankers, it is not oil and oil products that enter water bodies, but their processed products - paraffin, asphalt-resin components, and petroleum residues. The properties and composition of these contaminants differ from the properties and composition of oils. Oil residues concentrate high-molecular components of oil, products of polymerization and polycondensation of hydrocarbons, metal corrosion products, etc. The bulk of oil pollution enters the ocean in the form of oil-containing water. According to some estimates, up to 75% of oil enters the ocean in an emulsified state. Oil that reaches the surface of the ocean as a result of an emergency release is subject to mechanical and thermal effects, so the type of oil in the sea changes greatly over time. Oil in water can be in the form of films of various thicknesses, emulsions, dissolved form and in the form of clots. Theoretically, oil can spread to monomolecular layers, but in reality, oil films contain thousands of molecular layers. The size of oil particles in the emulsion is less than 3 10“4 mm. Oil solubility depends on many factors and ranges from 2 to 100 mg/l.[...]
Behind last years As a result of the implementation of government regulations on the protection of water bodies, the pollution of individual water bodies has noticeably decreased. Surface oil pollution of the river has stopped. Belaya below Ufa, pollution by phenols of the river. Tom, oil pollution of the Kuban, Volga below Kuibyshev and Saratov decreased, the flow of organic pollution into the Volkhov Bay of Lake Ladoga, Vyborg Bay and a number of other reservoirs decreased (Treatment of industrial wastewater, 1967). The problem of protecting water bodies from pollution can be completely resolved only by implementing the entire complex of legislative, organizational and technical measures. Among technical activities, along with improving production technology, it is important to improve existing ones and develop new, more economical and effective methods wastewater treatment.[...]
Threshold oil skimmers are shown in Fig. 3.21. The first of them (Fig. 3.21a) consists of a pontoon 1, a tank 2 and a suction hose 3. Oil pollution 4 enters the tank 2 through the front edge of the oil skimmer 5, immersed in water (when the pump is running). The higher the pumping flow rate, the lower it drops threshold. When pumping stops, it rises above the water level. Thus, by adjusting the pumping speed, oil films of different thicknesses can be collected and removed. With the width of the front edge of the oil skimmer equal to 1 m, the maximum productivity of the device reaches 12 t/h.[...]
The brush cloth of the adsorbing unit (Fig. 6.4.5) consists of several sections made of polypropylene fiber. To collect oil contaminants, the unit body is installed on a pontoon. After lowering the brush cloth onto the surface of the contaminated reservoir, the motor of the squeezing device is turned on, and the brush cloth is pulled between the squeezing rolls. Oil stuck to the brush cloth is squeezed out and flows into the receiving device of the collection tank. To install the unit on the river, the kit includes a float with anchors connected to the canvas through a guide block.[...]
The principle of overflow is used in the oil collector devices of project No. 4311 of the Astrakhan Central Design Bureau (Fig. 6.4.6), adapted to eliminate oil pollution from the free surface of reservoirs. In the middle part of the ship's hull there are two receiving windows located on both sides. This arrangement of windows makes it possible to collect oil pollution from the water directly off the coast, as well as when cleaning the coast from oil by washing it off with water cannons. Oil floating on the surface of the reservoir is collected by guide flaps to the windows, through their float valves it enters the receiving bath and from there into the oil collection baffle. Then the oil-water mixture is pumped into a cascade settling tank. Water from the bottom of the reservoir is forced back into the receiving bath, and oil contaminants are pumped into holding tanks.[...]
The work and its results are confirmed by the act under contract No. BNT/u/3 - 1/2/4964/00/SYUS OJSC "NUNPZ" dated 05/19/2000. Thus, the method of remediation of soil contaminated with oil products using the biological product “Rodotrin”, biogenic additives (biotrin and diammophos) and phytomeliorants (hot brome and sorghum Sudan) has shown high efficiency in the conditions of Bashkortostan and can be recommended for widespread implementation in the elimination of oil contamination of soil in climatic conditions Republic of Bashkortostan.[...]
In exploited oil fields, well pads and adjacent areas are contaminated with drilling waste (sludge), and the areas of areas contaminated with sludge are comparable to the areas of sludge pits. Along with the sludge, oil, mineralized water, chemicals, and other toxic components stored in sludge pits fall into the contaminated area. The vegetation in the contaminated area is completely destroyed. With a sludge layer thickness of 5-10 cm, the damage caused to the forest is comparable to severe oil pollution. Even the timing of natural restoration of vegetation in such cases is approximately the same.[...]
Construction of a calibration graph. The graph is constructed using samples of petroleum products extracted from the water under study or from petroleum products of the predominant source of pollution (if the qualitative composition of oil pollution in the object under study is not subject to frequent changes). The luminescence intensity is plotted on the coordinates depending on the content of hydrocarbons (mg) isolated from the A1203 layer and dissolved in 10 ml of chloroform.[...]
The morphological properties of soils change significantly: cutane formation increases, the color characteristics of the soil profile change towards a predominance of gray and dark brown shades, and the soil structure deteriorates. The end result of oil pollution is the formation of soil areas with features unusual for zonal conditions, zonal types are replaced by technogenic modifications, soil productivity decreases until the need to remove contaminated lands from agricultural use.[...]
From the position environmental safety Mechanical methods for collecting spilled oil are more preferable - by limiting its spread and using special oil skimmers and separation units. The main technical means of localizing oil pollution are booms, and currently about 150 types of them are known. They not only localize the spill, but also ensure effective cleaning of a given surface from oil (for example, sorption booms), and special separation devices also lead to the separation of collected oil from water. To perform oil collection work, skimmers are widely used: oleophilic (disc, drum and brush), vortex and centrifugal, threshold, combined (for example, oleophilic discs and a threshold in one skimmer body), absorption skimmers (vertical or horizontal), differing only in the principle of oil collection and petroleum products.[...]
Great possibilities for recycling ash are associated with its sorption properties. In composition, it is close to natural inorganic cation exchangers of the permutite class No. 20, A120z ZYu2 2N20, especially for hydro-ash removal. Unburned coal particles present in the ash also act as an active adsorbent in relation to organic low-dissociation compounds such as oil pollution.[...]
The main difficulty in using finite difference methods is choosing the correct values of the turbulent diffusion coefficients. In the system, to calculate the propagation of impurities, an Explicit scheme is used, to enhance the dissipative properties of which directional differences are used, and the method of fractional steps. For the problem of oil pollution propagation, one should also take into account the initial stage of oil slick propagation under the influence of gravity, viscosity and surface tension, for which the basic equation cannot be used to model. For the accounting initial stage experimental data are used for oil spreading.[...]
When mixed with water, oil forms two types of emulsion: direct - “oil in water” and reverse - “water in oil”. Direct emulsions, composed of oil droplets with a diameter of up to 0.5 microns, are less stable and are characteristic of oils containing surfactants. When volatile fractions are removed, oil forms viscous inverse emulsions that can remain on the surface as a thin film of oil that moves at approximately twice the speed of water flow. Upon contact with the shore and coastal vegetation, an oil film settles on them. In the process of spreading over the surface of the water, light fractions of oil partially evaporate and dissolve, while heavy fractions sink into the water column and settle to the bottom, polluting bottom sediments. Table 6.20 shows the classification of oil pollution of surface water bodies.[...]
To successfully monitor the state of the environment, carry out environmental protection or reclamation measures, it is necessary to competently use both classical methods of chemical analysis and modern techniques of instrumental analysis. Quite often in recent years, remote methods have been successfully used to monitor the state of the biosphere, in particular in cases of oil pollution or soil salinization.
According to estimates, 6-15 million tons of oil and petroleum products enter the World Ocean annually. Here, first of all, it is necessary to note the losses associated with its transportation by tankers. After unloading oil, in order to give the tanker the necessary stability, its tanks are filled with ballast water; until recently, discharge of ballast water with remaining oil was most often carried out into the open sea. Few tankers have tanks specifically designed for ballast water, which are never filled with oil.
Significant quantities of oil enter the sea after washing tanks and oil tanks. It is estimated that about 1% of oil and petroleum products from all transported cargo ends up in the sea. For example, an oil tanker with a displacement of about 30,000 tons discharges about 300 tons of fuel oil into the sea on each voyage. When transporting 500 million tons of oil per year, fuel oil losses amount to about 5 million tons per year, or 13,700 tons per day!
A huge amount of petroleum products ends up in the oceans at their use. Diesel engines of ships alone emit up to 2 million tons of heavy oil products (lubricating oils, unburned fuel) into the sea.
Great losses during offshore drilling, oil collection in local reservoirs and pumping through main oil pipelines. Here, up to 0.25% of the total amount of oil produced is lost.
As offshore oil production increases, the number of tanker shipments increases sharply, and, consequently, the number of accidents increases. In recent years, the number of large tankers transporting oil has increased. Supertankers account for more than half of the total volume of oil transported. Such a giant, even after turning on the emergency brake, travels more than 1 mile (1852 m) before coming to a complete stop. Naturally, the risk of catastrophic collisions with such tankers increases several times.
Carrying oil and petroleum products into the sea with river waters. In this way, up to 28% of the total amount of incoming oil enters the seas.
Influx of petroleum products with precipitation. Light fractions of oil evaporate from the surface of the sea and enter the atmosphere. Thus, about 10% of the total amount of oil and petroleum products enters the World Ocean.
Drainage of untreated water from factories and oil depots located on sea coasts and ports. In the United States, more than 500 thousand tons of oil per year enter the World Ocean this way.
Covered with oil films.
Oil films cover: vast areas of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans; The South China and Yellow Seas, the Panama Canal zone, a vast area along the coast of North America (up to 500-600 km wide), the water area between the Hawaiian Islands and San Francisco in the North Pacific Ocean and many other areas are completely covered. Such oil films cause especially great harm in semi-enclosed, inland and northern seas, where they are carried by current systems. Thus, the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Current transport hydrocarbons from the coast North America and Europe to the areas of the Norwegian and Barents Seas. Oil entering the seas of the Arctic Ocean and Antarctica is especially dangerous, since low air temperatures inhibit the processes of chemical and biological oxidation of oil even in summer. Thus, oil pollution is global in nature.
Introduction
The environment provides an industrial enterprise with everything it needs to continue the technological cycle. As production develops and expands, the enterprise requires an increasing amount of resources, which it takes from the environment. As production develops and expands, the enterprise requires an increasing amount of resources, which it takes from the environment.
In turn, an industrial enterprise emits into the environment such products of the technological cycle as wastewater, solid waste, exhaust gases, and the qualitative composition of the waste varies depending on the profile of the enterprise. With the growth of production of harmful emissions, there is more and more Radzevich N.N., Pashkang K.V. Protection and transformation of nature. - M.: Education, 2001 - P.57.
Thus, we can conclude that factories, factories and other enterprises have a detrimental effect on the area in which they are located, and the extraction of minerals necessary for their technological process is also detrimental to nature.
Over the past decade, the idea that a healthy environment and sustainable economic development interact with one another has gained increasing recognition. At the same time, the world was undergoing major political, social and economic changes as many countries began programs to radically restructure their economies. Thus, the study of the impact of general economic measures on the environment has become an urgent problem of serious importance and requiring an urgent solution.
The subject of the study is the impact of oil pollution on the environment, the object of the study is oil spills and the damage they cause to the environment. The research hypothesis is that a modern enterprise causes damage to the environment, starting from the process of extracting materials necessary for industrial production. Practical significance course work- research and analysis of the impact of oil pollution on the environment.
The purpose of the work is to study the interaction and impact of oil enterprises on the environment.
The objectives of the course work include consideration and analysis of the following issues:
Environmental pollution due to oil spills;
Liability for oil spills;
Impact of oil pollution on the environment;
Effect of oil on animals and plants;
The influence of oil on the hydrosphere and lithosphere.
Oil spills can and do occur almost everywhere. Small spills receive little attention and are quickly cleaned up or decompose naturally. Large oil spills attract public attention and usually require urgent action by government agencies. It is impossible to predict serious oil spills in advance, but biologists and administrators must be held accountable when they occur.
1. Oil pollution of the environment
1.1 Environmental pollution due to oil spills
The appearance of about 35% of oil hydrocarbons in offshore waters in the early 70s was caused by spills and discharges during oil transportation by sea. Spills during transportation and unloading account for less than 35% of the total size and discharge of oil into soil and clean water in the environment. Data from the late 1970s show that this figure has risen to 45% in offshore areas. In urban areas, oil spills and releases may be 10% or slightly less. For comparison, most oil spills in coastal or continental parts occur during transportation Radzevich N.N., Pashkang K.V. Protection and transformation of nature. - M.: Education, 2001 - P.83.
Oil discharges into water quickly cover large areas, while the thickness of the pollution also varies. Cold weather and water slow the spread of oil over the surface, so a given amount of oil covers larger areas in summer than in winter. The thickness of the spilled oil is greater in places where it collects along the coastline. The movement of an oil spill depends on wind, currents and tides. Some types of oil sink (sink) and move under the water column or along the surface depending on the current and tides.
Crude oil and refined products begin to change composition depending on air, water and light temperatures. Low molecular weight components evaporate easily. The amount of evaporation ranges from 10% for spills of heavy types of oil and petroleum products (No. 6 heating oil) to 75% for spills of light types of oil and petroleum products (No. 2 heating oil, gasoline). Some low molecular weight components may dissolve in water. Less than 5% of crude oil and petroleum products are soluble in water. This "atmospheric" process causes the remaining oil to become denser and unable to float on the surface of the water.
Oil under the influence sun rays oxidizes. A thin film of oil and oil emulsion is more easily oxidized in water than a thicker layer of oil. Oils with a high metal content or low sulfur content oxidize faster than oils with a low metal content or high sulfur content. Fluctuations in water and currents mix oil with water, resulting in either an oil-water emulsion (a mixture of oil and water), which will dissolve over time, or an oil-water emulsion, which will not dissolve. Water-oil emulsion contains from 10% to 80% water; 50-80 percent emulsions are often called "chocolate mousse" due to their dense, viscous appearance and chocolate color. The "mousse" spreads very slowly and can remain on the water or shore without change for many months.
The movement of oil from the surface of the water in the process of dissolution and transformation into an emulsion delivers molecules and particles of oil to living organisms. Microbes (bacteria, yeast, filamentous fungi) in water change the composition of oil into small and simple hydrocarbons and non-hydrocarbons. Oil particles, in turn, stick to particles in the water (debris, mud, microbes, phytoplankton) and settle to the bottom, where microbes change components that are light and simple in structure. Heavy components are more resistant to microbial attack and eventually settle to the bottom. The effectiveness of microbes depends on water temperature, pH, percentage of salt, presence of oxygen, oil composition, nutrients in water and microbes. Thus, microbiological deterioration most often occurs in the case of a decrease in oxygen, nutrients and an increase in water temperature. Peters A. Oil spills and the environment // Ecology - 2006 - No. 4 - P.11.
Microbes exposed to oil multiply in marine organisms and react quickly to large oil releases. Between 40% and 80% of crude oil spills are exposed to microbes.
Various organisms attract oil. Filter-feeding zooplankton and bivalve mollusks absorb oil particles. Although shellfish and most zooplankton are unable to digest oil, they can transport it and provide temporary storage. Fish, mammals, birds and some invertebrates (crustaceans, many worms) digest a certain amount of petroleum hydrocarbons, which they ingest during feeding, purification, and respiration.
The residence time of oil in water is usually less than 6 months, unless an oil spill occurs the day before or directly in winter in northern latitudes. Oil may become trapped in ice until spring, when it is exposed to air, wind, sunlight and increased microbial exposure as water temperatures rise. The residence time of oil in coastal sediments, or already exposed to atmospheric influence as a water-oil emulsion, is determined by the characteristics of the sediments and the configuration of the coastline. The persistence period of oil in coastal environments ranges from a few days on rocks to more than 10 years in tidal and wet areas.
Oil trapped in sediments and on shore can be a source of pollution in coastal waters.
Periodic storms often pick up huge amounts of settled oil and carry it out to sea. In cold climates, ice, slow wave movement, and less chemical and biological activity cause oil to remain in sediments or on shore for longer periods of time than in temperate or tropical climates. In cold climates, sheltered and damp areas from the tides can retain oil indefinitely. Some sediments or damp soils do not contain enough oxygen to decompose; Oil decomposes without air, but this process is slower.
Oil spilled on the ground does not have time to be exposed to the weather before it enters the soil. Oil spills on small bodies of water (lakes, streams) are usually less affected by the weather until they reach shore than oil spills in the ocean. Differences in current speed, soil porosity, vegetation, wind and wave direction affect the time period oil remains at the shoreline.
Oil spilled directly on the ground evaporates, is subject to oxidation and exposure to microbes. If the soil is porous and the water table is low, oil spilled on the ground can contaminate the groundwater.
