Comparison of palm-oil based and petroleum based dispersant on crude oil contaminated seawater treatment

Abstract

Oil spills in aquatic environments seriously impact marine ecosystems by degrading water quality and disrupting the natural balance of aquatic life. Chemical remediation methods often employ dispersants—surfactant-based agents that break oil into smaller droplets, enhancing microbial degradation. This study aimed to evaluate the dispersion effectiveness of palm-oil-based dispersant (POBD) and petroleum-based dispersant (PBD) at various dispersant-to-oil ratios (DORs) to determine the optimal ratio for effective oil spill remediation. Crude oil-contaminated seawater was treated with dispersants at DORs ranging from 0.1:1 to 1:1, followed by assessments of water quality parameters (COD, pH, DO, and TDS) and hydrocarbon profiles. Results showed that POBD achieved a higher dispersion effectiveness (62.79%) compared to PBD (45.14%) and produced smaller droplet sizes (mean 0.71

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vs. 1.93

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. The post-remediation seawater treated with POBD had COD 587 mg/L, DO 3.73 mg/L, pH 8.29, and TDS 30.58 ppt, whereas PBD-treated samples showed COD 373 mg/L, DO 3.33 mg/L, pH 7.23, and TDS 28.41 ppt. Tukey’s test confirmed that POBD performed best at a DOR of 0.25:1, with no significant difference compared to higher ratios. This finding highlights the potential of POBD as a viable alternative due to their ability to maintain post-remediation water quality better and offer greater sustainability.

Keywords

Dispersion / Oil spill dispersant / Palm-oil / Oil response / Remediation / Water quality

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Funding

Institut Pertanian Bogor, Indonesia

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

The Author(s), under exclusive licence to the International Society of Energy and Environmental Science