Interfacial interactions between hydrocarbon liquids and solid surfaces used in mechanical oil spill recovery

The goal of this research was to study wetting and adhesion processes between various petroleum products and solid surfaces. When a liquid interacts with a solid surface, wetting, spreading and adhesion processes determine its behavior. These processes are of great importance for understanding oil spill response as well as oil spill behavior on land and in near shore environments, and oil extraction from the reservoir rock. The current study aimed at analyzing oil affinity and adhesion to surfaces used in the mechanical recovery of oil spills. A number of crude oils and petroleum products were tested with the surface materials that are used or may potentially be used to recover oil spills. Through the study of contact angles and recovered mass, it was found that the behavior of the oils at the solid surface is largely determined by the roughness of the solid. For smooth solids, contact angle hysteresis is a good indicator of the ability of the solid to retain oil. For rougher elastomers, the advancing contact angle can be used to predict wetting and adhesion processes between oil and solid. This study showed that oleophilic elastomers (e.g., Neoprene and Hypalon) have higher oil recovery potential than smooth polymers.