Oil Spill Dispersant Formulation from Diethanolamine (DEA) and Methyl Ester Sulfonate (MES) for Bioremediation Process

Abstract

The palm oil industry was developed to produce oleochemical products and derivates, such as surfactant, namely diethanolamide (DEA) and methyl ester sulfonate (MES).  The objective of this study is to produce a water based dispersant type from  two kinds of surfactants,  DEA and MES, then apply it to enhance bioemediation process.  Both surfactants were diluted in water to prepare solution of DEA and MES, respectively, then it were determined the critical micelle concentration.  The selected solutions were mixed at ratio of DEA and MES solution (9:1 to 1: 9) to obtain the stable emulsion as an oil spill dispersant (OSD).  The best  characterized OSD formula was tested to enhance bioremediation process for crude oil contaminated soil.   The formulation result shows that solution of  DEA 1.5% and MES 0.9%  are selected  at the mixed ratio of  7:3.   This  OSD product  was characterized to density, surface tension, interfacial tension, pH , viscosity and droplet size.  The OSD was demonstrated in a microcosm test of crude oil contaminated soil at ratio of crude oil : OSD  by (1:1).   This result shows that the OSD can enhance the bioremediation process compare to control without OSD.

Keywords:  Bioremediation, DEA, MES, OSD, Palm oil derivated,  Surfactant