page_title: Oil dispersants
section_title: Methods of use
hierarchical_section_title: Oil dispersants / Methods of use
caption_attribution_description: English: Oil Spill Response Boeing 727 G-OSRA performing at the 2016 Farnborough Airshow, displaying its dispersal system
context_page_description: An oil dispersant is a mixture of emulsifiers and solvents that helps break oil into small droplets following an oil spill. Small droplets are easier to disperse throughout a water volume, and small droplets may be more readily biodegraded by microbes in the water. Dispersant use involves a trade-off between exposing coastal life to surface oil and exposing aquatic life to dispersed oil. While submerging the oil with dispersant may lessen exposure to marine life on the surface, it increases exposure for animals dwelling underwater, who may be harmed by toxicity of both dispersed oil and dispersant. Although dispersant reduces the amount of oil that lands ashore, it may allow faster, deeper penetration of oil into coastal terrain, where it is not easily biodegraded.
context_section_description: Dispersants can be delivered in aerosolized form by an aircraft or boat. Sufficient dispersant with droplets in the proper size are necessary; this can be achieved with an appropriate pumping rate. Droplets larger than 1,000 µm are preferred, to ensure they are not blown away by the wind. The ratio of dispersant to oil is typically 1:20.
caption: Oil Spill Response Boeing 727 displaying its dispersants delivery system at the 2016 Farnborough Airshow
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