Abstract

Owing to the importance of dissolution and weathering processes following oil spills, this work focused on the operational (quantitative) aspects related to the dissolution of petroleum-derived products, as well as the influence of solar light on both dissolution and the photoproduction of hydrogen peroxide. Four Brazilian crude oil samples were used to study the transfer process of organic compounds from the crude oil film to the aqueous phase (natural seawater) over a period of up to 45 days. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC), measured by non-dispersive infrared spectroscopy followed by high temperature catalytic combustion, was used to follow the partitioning between the two phases. Aqueous DOC values increased as a function of time (up to 15 days) until equilibrium was reached at concentrations ranging from 5 to 45 mg C L⁻¹. The final DOC concentration as well as the rate of dissolution depends on the nature of the crude oil. When exposed to sunlight, the dissolution was enhanced by up to 67.3%, and inorganic peroxides were generated in the concentration range from 4.5 up to 8.0 µmol L⁻¹ after 7.3 h irradiation. These results indicate that there is a need for a standard procedure for the production of the WSF in order to generate a more reliable tool to assess the impact of oil spills on the marine environment.