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ET&C_Water_Column_PAC_Data_SI.xlsx (13.93 kB)

Dataset for: Simulating a spill of diluted bitumen: Environmental weathering and submergence in a model freshwater system

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posted on 2019-12-12, 14:37 authored by Sawyer Stoyanovich, Zeyu Yang, Mark Hanson, Bruce P Hollebone, Diane M Orihel, Vince Palace, Jose R Rodriguez-Gil, Robert Faragher, Fatemah S Mirnaghi, Keval Shah, Jules Blais
The main petroleum product transported through pipelines in Canada is diluted bitumen (dilbit), a semi-liquid form of heavy crude oil mixed with natural gas condensates to facilitate transport. The weathering, fate, behaviour, and environmental effects of dilbit are crucial to consider when responding to a spill, however few environmental studies on dilbit have been completed. Here we report on 11-day long experimental spills of dilbit (Cold Lake Winter Blend) in outdoor micro-cosms meant to simulate a low-energy aquatic system containing natural lake water and sedi-ments treated with a low (1:8,000 oil:water) and high (1:800 oil:water) volume of dilbit. In the first 24 hours of the experiment, volatile hydrocarbons quickly evaporated from the dilbit, result-ing in increased dilbit density and viscosity. These changes in dilbit’s physical and chemical properties ultimately led to its submergence after 8 days. We also detected rapid accumulation of polycyclic aromatic compounds in the water column of the treated-microcosms following the spills. Our study provides new information on the environmental fate and behaviour of dilbit in a freshwater environment that will be critical to environmental risk assessments of proposed pipe-line projects. In particular, our study demonstrates the propensity for dilbit to sink under ambient environmental conditions in fresh waters typical of many boreal lakes.

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4778963