Dispersant effectiveness (DE) Test to determine the Conformity of Bio-OSD Product Standards with Applicable Regulations by Swirling Flask Test

Abstract

Oil pollution in coastal areas due to oil spills was an environmental problem that needed to be anticipated. Since the role of a dispersant in the spill response was to intensify the process of dispersing oil in water with further stabilization of the resulting dispersions, its most important characteristic was the dispersing ability, essentially expressing the effectiveness of the dispersant. This capstone project aimed to determine the conformity of Bio-OSD product standards with applicable standards. The method used to test the effectiveness of dispersants was the swirling flask test. The dispersant effectiveness of Bio-OSD on Crude oil X, Y, and Z was 100%, 88.5%, and 82.3%, respectively. The dispersant effectiveness of Commercial OSD-X on Crude oil X, Y, and Z results was 39.8%, 49.9%, and 64.6%. It could be concluded that the effectiveness of the Bio-OSD product met the standards proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which were at least 45%.