Oxygenation reactions initiated by sunlight can transform insoluble components of crude oil at sea into water-soluble products, a process called photo-dissolution. First reported a half century ago, photo-dissolution has never been included in spill models because key parameters required for rate modelling were unknown (e.g., wavelength and photon dose dependence).  Here, we experimentally quantified photo-dissolution as a function of wavelength and photon dose, making possible a sensitivity analysis of environmental variables in hypothetical spill scenarios and a mass balance assessment for the 2010 <i>Deepwater Horizon </i>(DwH) spill. The sensitivity analysis revealed that rates were most sensitive to oil slick thickness, season/latitude, and wavelength, and less sensitive to photon dose. We estimate that 4-14% (best estimate 8%) of DwH surface oil was subject to photo-dissolution, comparable in magnitude to other widely-recognized fate processes. Our findings invite a critical reevaluation of surface oil budgets both for DwH and future spills at sea.

Sunlight-driven dissolution is a major fate of oil at sea

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.