Non-Toxic, Biodegradable Fluids for the Simulation of Crude Oil Behavior in Oil Spill Environments
This technology is related to the development of a suite of fluids tailored to simulate specific crude oils. The base fluid would consist of a blend of one or more vegetable oils, naturally occurring, non-toxic oils and/or synthetic oils. The fluids would also have a slate of additives that modify physical and chemical properties of the base fluid blend to closely approximate key properties of the targeted crude oil. The simulant formulations may also contain secondary phases that contain nutrients to enhance biodegradation and/or tracking agents to permit definition of the extent of the simulated spill.Benefits
There is no environmentally acceptable crude oil simulant currently available for use in oil spill simulations. Therefore, the development of a benign, biodegradable crude oil simulant would be a significant advancement. The simulant fluid would be of use to crude oil pipeline transportation companies, harbor authorities and other process plants dealing with crude oils. Crude oil pipeline reconfigurations will require EPA certification of oil spill response capability. The simulant fluid can be used for testing and validation of commercial oil spill clean up methods and apparatus.
Stage of Development
A provisional patent application has been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
This technology is part of an active and ongoing research program. It is available for developmental research support/licensing under either exclusive or non-exclusive terms.
Additional Info
*http://www.perc.utah.edu/
Inventor(s): Alyssa Redding, John Fletcher, Christopher Olson, Jumpol Jaturapitpornsakul, Francis Hanson
Type of Offer: Licensing
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