Viscous effects on the interaction of granular particles with floating oils in water

Berrin Tansel; Daria Boglaienko

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.124

Viscous effects on the interaction of granular particles with floating oils in water

Sci Total Environ. 2018 Jul 1:628-629:835-839. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.124. Epub 2018 Feb 20.

Authors

Berrin Tansel¹, Daria Boglaienko²

Affiliations

¹ Florida International University, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, 10555 West Flagler Street, Engineering Center, Miami, FL 33174, USA. Electronic address: tanselb@fiu.edu.
² Florida International University, Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, 10555 West Flagler Street, Engineering Center, Miami, FL 33174, USA.

PMID: 29455133
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.124

Abstract

Light hydrophobic liquids (LHLs) can be submerged in water with granular particles by forming particle encapsulated liquid sacks. Formation and submergence of granular encapsulated LHL sacks can be an effective method for capturing and controlling the fate of floating oils. However, formation characteristics of the LHL sacks and effect of LHL viscosity on their behavior are not well understood. In this study, we examined the encapsulation characteristics of LHL sacks depending on liquid viscosity. Silicone oils with viscosities ranging from 10cSt to 1000cSt were used as the LHLs. Sand with two different particle sizes (40-100mesh and 20-30mesh) were used as the granular particles. The submerged LHL sacks were stable and remained separate from each other without collapsing or aggregating over time. They could be moved in water by sliding while keeping their encapsulation.

Keywords: Floating oil; Granular encapsulation; Granular particles; Hydrophobic liquids; Liquid marbles; Oil submergence.