Abstract
Multiple studies have focused on the effect of long-term weathering processes on oils after spill events, without considering the chemical compositional changes occurring shortly after the release of oil into the environment. Therefore, the present study provides a broad chemical characterization for understanding of the changes occurring in the chemical compositions of intermediate (°API = 27.0) and heavy (°API = 20.9) oils from the Sergipe-Alagoas basin submitted to two simulated situations, one under marine conditions and the other in a riverine environment. Samples of the oils were collected during the first 72 h of contact with the simulated environments, followed by evaluation of their chemical compositions. SARA fractionation was used to isolate the resins, which were characterized at the molecular level by UHRMS. The evaporation process was highlighted, with the GC-FID chromatographic profiles showing the disappearance of compounds from n-C10 until n-C16, as well as changes in the weathering indexes and pristane + n-C17/phytane + n-C18 ratios for the crude oils submitted to the riverine conditions. Analysis of the resins fraction showed that basic polar compounds underwent little or no alterations during the early stages of weathering. The marine environment was shown to be much less oxidative than the riverine environment. For both environments, a feature highlighted was an increase of acidic oxygenated compounds with the increase of weathering, especially for the crude oil with °API = 27.0.
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All data generated and analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files, and complementary information are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to CAPES (Coordination for Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) and CNPq (Brazilian National Research Council) for fellowships, and CLQM (Center of Multi-Users Chemistry Laboratories, Federal University of Sergipe) for analytical assistance.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Jhonattas de Carvalho Carregosa—investigation, instrumental analysis, interpretation of results, and writing—original draft. Julian Eduardo Ballen Castiblanco—experimental design and interpretation of results. Tarcísio Martins Santos—statistical treatment and interpretation of results. Paloma Santana Prata—instrumental analysis and interpretation of results. Jandyson Machado Santos—supervision, analysis tools, interpretation of results, and critical revision of the manuscript. Alberto Wisniewski, Jr.—project coordinator, conceptualization, resource, supervision, and final revision of the manuscript.
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Highlights
• Up to 72 h, the marine environment was less aggressive in causing changes in crude oil chemical composition.
• Gravimetric changes were more pronounced for oils exposed to the riverine environment.
• Biodegradation trends were accelerated after 48 h in the riverine environment.
• Polar compounds of a basic nature were stable in the early stages of weathering, regardless of the environment.
• Biotic and/or abiotic oxidation mechanisms affected the chemical composition of crude oil in both aquatic environments.
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Carregosa, .C., Castiblanco, J.E.B., Santos, T.M. et al. Assessment of the effect of short-term weathering on the molecular-level chemical composition of crude oils in contact with aquatic environments. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 95738–95757 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29148-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29148-7