Oil-mineral interactions with applications in oil-spill clean-up

The wetting and adhesion of model hydrocarbons on a variety of surfaces is characterized with contact angle, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements. The contact angle data are analyzed in terms of surface free energy parameters that can be subsequently used to predict wetting/adhesion behavior in a variety of conditions. The AFM and QCM experiments reveal the mechanism and timescales of oil spreading and detachment from surfaces immersed in an aqueous environment. Effects of added surface active agents are considered. The findings add to our oil-mineral interactions knowledge that is needed for coastline remediation following an oil spill.