A New Emulsification Method with Application for Cleaning Oil Spills

By Lisa K. Kemp, Robert Y. Lochhead, Sarah E. Morgan, Daniel A. Savin

The clean-up and removal of oil spilled in the marine environment and in coastal and inland waters is a challenging task. Each of the available clean-up technologies has significant disadvantages. Current oil dispersants are successful at distributing small oil droplets through the water column, but they do not prevent fouling of birds, animals, and plants. By developing an oil antideposition agent that is composed of commercially available food-grade materials, our research team has provided an economical and environmentally friendly option for oil spill treatment.

Our antideposition agent relies on a novel emulsification system that combines amphiphilic polysaccharides and natural bilayer-forming surfactants. This system uses a combination of steric stabilization and lamellar stabilization to disperse the oil into discrete droplets and prevent that treated oil from wetting or sticking to hydrophobic substrates, such as bird feathers.