Effect of Flush Water Temperature and Type on Commercial Shoreline Cleaning Agent Efficiency

A research team at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Water and Environment Research Center conducted a series of column experiments to investigate the effect of flush water temperature and type (salt vs. fresh) on shoreline cleaning agent (SCA) efficiency. Results confirmed that the use of SCAs can enhance oil removal from porous media but showed that at the colder temperatures common in Alaska the efficiency of shoreline cleaners is significantly reduced. Using salt water also tends to decrease the efficiency of flushing. The data also show that the majority of the removal attributable to the shoreline cleaning agent occurs within the first one to three pore volume flushes. After that time, the effectiveness of the flushing procedure drops off to that of pure water for all three SCAs tested.