title: Aqueous vapor extraction: a previously unrecognized weathering process affecting oil spills in vigorously aerated water.
abstract: Simple evaporation of spilled oil is usually thought to be restricted to the smaller hydrocarbons (<15 carbons). We show that aeration of oil in water, at 22 degrees C, substantially extends this evaporation, leading to the loss of alkanes up to at least hexatricosane (nC36) and of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons with at least four rings (e.g., chrysene and its alkylated forms). This phenomenon is apparently related to steam distillation and should be considered as an important candidate pathway to explain the observed weathering of oil spilled from the OSSA II pipeline into the Río Desaguadero on the Bolivian Altiplano (approximately 3700 m), which occurred during a very turbulent flood.
authors.affiliation: ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Co., Annandale, New Jersey 08801, USA. Roger.C.Prince@ExxonMobil.com
authors.forename: Roger C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Prince
authors.forename: Robert T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Stibrany
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hardenstine
authors.forename: Gregory S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.forename: Edward H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Owens
mesh_terms: D001838:Bolivia; D004190:Disasters; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D010578:Petroleum; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000737:chemistry*; D014835:Volatilization
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010578:Petroleum; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons