A nanocomposite containing polypropylene (PP) and nano α-Al2O3 particles was prepared using a Haake internal mixer. Mechanical tests, such as tensile and flexural tests, showed that mechanical properties of the composite were enhanced by addition of nano α-Al2O3 particles and dispersant agent to the polymer. Tensile strength was approximately ∼ 16% higher than pure PP by increasing the nano α-A...

The aim of this study was to examine the acute toxicity of five oil spill chemical dispersants on the ecologically and economically important coastal and estuarine species, blue crab Callinectes sapidus. Static, non-renewal 48 h acute toxicity tests were performed on stage-II blue crab zoea. The median lethal concentration (LC50) was calculated for each dispersant at 24 h and 48 h using nominal...

The Deepwater Horizon spill released over 4.1 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. In an effort to mitigate large oil slicks, the dispersant Corexit 9500 was sprayed onto surface slicks and injected directly at the wellhead at water depth of 1,500 m. Several research groups were involved in investigating the fate of the MC-252 oil using newly advanced molecular tools to elucida...

When oil is mixed with light alkanes, asphaltenes can precipitate out of oil solutions in a multistep process that involves the formation of nano and colloidal scale particles, the aggregation of asphaltene colloids, and their eventual sedimentation. Amphiphilic dispersants can greatly affect this process. The mechanism of the dispersant action in colloidal asphaltene suspensions in heptane has...

Planktonic copepods play a key function in marine ecosystems, however, little is known about the effects of dispersants and chemically dispersed crude oil on these important planktonic organisms. We examined the potential for the copepods Acartia tonsa, Temora turbinata and Parvocalanus crassirostris to ingest crude oil droplets and determined the acute toxicity of the dispersant Corexit(®) 950...

Limited toxicology data are available regarding oil dispersant exposure to coral species. Corexit® EC9500A (Corexit) is a commonly applied dispersant most well known for its use after the Deepwater Horizon spill in April, 2010. There is limited evidence that Corexit can cause a bleaching response in corals. The aims of the study were: (1) to determine the extent of bleaching after acute 24 h an...

The present work describes a comparative study on pool of 12 dispersants for the de-agglomeration and stabilization silicon carbide in aqueous suspensions with solids loading relevant dip coating applications. As slurries may include sintering aids, different functional groups, molecular weight, mechanisms were considered to be able stabilize both slurry components. Additionally, pH effect, tox...

Different molecular weight fractions of lignosulfonates (LS), LS having different cations, and modified LS with different degree of sulfonation and intrinsic viscosity were prepared and used as dispersants for Dimethomorph water-dispersible granules (DWG). The suspending ratio of DWG was tested to evaluate the effectiveness of LS as a dispersant. Moreover, the stability of DWG suspensions was m...

Effectiveness of oil spill dispersants containing lecithin/Tween 80 (L/T) blends in ethanol was measured as a function of L:T ratio, surfactant:solvent ratio, solvent composition, and dispersant:oil ratio (DOR) using baffled flask dispersion effectiveness tests. Optimal L:T ratios are between 60:40 and 80:20 (w/w); at higher L:T ratios, effectiveness is limited by high interfacial tension, whil...

the degradation of crude oil under a no-control and dispersant-control setting was evaluated using loss of biological activity test, microbial population growth and measurements of optical transmittance of test media. comparison of the toxicity of crude oil under the no-control setting to crude oil-dispersant mixture revealed that the mixture was about 2 times more toxic than the crude oil unde...