Photodegradation of Ghana Crude Oil by Sunlight Irradiation

Abstract

Photochemical degradation of crude oil in seawater is critical in the protection of the marine environment during oil spillages. In this study, the photochemical weathering of Ghana Crude Oil (GCO) was investigated, by irradiation with natural sunlight. The analytical techniques of Gas chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) were applied in the identification of aromatic and aliphatic components after 10 weeks of irradiation. The aliphatic components exhibited low susceptibility for photo-chemical degradation, while the aromatic components were mainly affected by photo-oxidation. The results showed a decrease in the number of aromatic and aliphatic compounds detected by 39% and 35% respectively. These results confirm photo-oxidation by natural sunlight as an effective remediation process for GCO, especially under high solar radiation environmental conditions.