Partitioning of No. 2 Fuel Oil in Controlled Estuarine Ecosystems. Sediments and Suspended Particulate Matter
Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
1-1-1980
Abstract
To investigate the transport and incorporation of waterborne oil to sediments, no. 2 fuel oil was added as a dispersion in semiweekly doses to three controlled estuarine ecosystems. Samples of suspended particulate matter and sediments were analyzed by gas chromatography for saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons. Fractionation of the oil in the water column by adsorption to particulate matter resulted in the sedimentation of about 50% of the insoluble, saturated hydrocarbons, but less than 20% of the more soluble, aromatic hydrocarbons. The oil-derived hydrocarbons were slowly mixed down through the bioturbation zone. Biodegradation and other processes effected the removal of most of the hydrocarbons soon after the additions ended, but a residue of 10-20% in the form of branched alkanes, cycloalkanes, and aromatics in an unresolved complex mixture persisted more than 1 year later. © 1980, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Environmental Science and Technology
Volume
14
Issue
9
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Gearing, Patrick J., Juanita N. Gearing, Richard J. Pruell, James G. Quinn, and Terry L. Wade. "Partitioning of No. 2 Fuel Oil in Controlled Estuarine Ecosystems. Sediments and Suspended Particulate Matter." Environmental Science and Technology 14, 9 (1980). doi: 10.1021/es60169a011.