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Characterization of spilled oil samples. Purpose, sampling, analysis and interpretation
Volume 17/Number 10/October 1986
sources of which are not always acknowledged) and several graphical models. Some of the latter are difficult to interpret and one is inaccurate. Figure l b is the author's version of Lorenz's now dated, psychohydraulic model of motivation (referred to as the flush toilet model in the text) in the form of boxes and arrows. It falls into the error of including a feedback pathway, which is not a feature of the original model.
STEWART M. EVANS
Fingerprinting Oil Characterization of Spilled Oil Samples. Purpose, Sampling, Analysis and Interpretation. J. A. Butt, D. E Duckworth and S. G. Perry (Eds). Published on behalf of The Institute of Petroleum, London by John Wiley & Sons, 1985. Price £17.50. ISBN 0471 90890 8. This useful little volume, 95 pages, supersedes Marine Pollution by Oil which was published by the Institute of Petroleum in 1974. At that time the aim was simply to provide an account of the methods to be used for the characterization of samples of spilled oil. The present volume is however wider in scope. Apart from successfully bringing the account of methods up to date, it seeks to explain the purposes which may be served by oil characterization in specific circumstances and as such covers the needs of many individuals in addition to analysts. Thus the book should be useful to a wide readership including non oil industry personnel involved in oil spill clearance, officials charged with monitoring compliance with discharge regulations, and managers of oil related enterprises, who may from time to time be required to ascertain whether a reported pollution incident has originated from their operations and, if so, to track down the specific source, or even to defend themselves against wrongful accusations. In order to satisfy the requirements of this wider readership, the book covers administrative aspects, legal requirements, sampling and analytical methods, the nature and chemical composition of crude and product oils, and the changes which these oils undergo on exposure to the elements after spillage, together with the implications of these factors for the analytical and characterisation process. The sampling chapter covering collection, documentation, storage, and transportation is good and leads nicely to a consideration of the preparation of samples for analysis through the use of filtration, centrifugation, extraction, and separation into fractions. In addition the use of representative samples for correlation purposes and training is described and distinguished from reference materials which, in this context is taken to mean samples collected from potential sources for comparison with a pollutant to help trace the source and offender. About half the book is devoted to current analytical methods and provides satisfactorily concise and comprehensive accounts of current practice in the main and supplementary areas together with indications of trends. Gas chromatography for the separation of samples into their characteristic components at both high and low
resolution is discussed in relation to crude, fuel, lubricating, and vegetable oils with appropriate illustrative examples. The use of mass spectrometry to identify characteristic components is well described as are the computerized data handling systems required to fully utilise this approach. Infrared methods are also covered with examples of spectra obtained for a crude, heavy fuel, and two vegetable oils. There is a usefully detailed treatment of the use of luminecence spectra in the form of conventional fluorescence, synchronous excitation fluorescence and total fluorescence spectroscopy. Reference is also made to the use of heteroelements such as nickel, vanadium, and sulphur and of trace metals in the characterization of oils. Among the supplementary methods and trends high performance liquid chromatography, thin layer chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance, stable isotopes, and the latest methods of pattem recognition are covered. Newcomers to the subject might prefer to read Chapter 5, Chemical Constitution of Petroleum and Its Application to Spill Identification, immediately after the Introduction and Chapter 2, Administrative Aspects, in order to gain an understanding of the complexity of crude oil and its products before reading Chapter 3, Oily Pollutants found in the Marine Environment and Their Fate. Having at this stage read Chapter 3 they will understand how the changes in composition of these complex mixtures, which occur on exposure to the elements, further complicate the analytical problem and how they need to be taken account of in the characterisation process. Chapter 4, Samples: Their Collection, Storage and Transportation can then be read as a prelude to the main section, Chapter 6, The Analytical Approach to Spill Identification. In any case, all those whom the Editor in Chief and his colleagues had in mind in writing this book will find it useful and a valuable addition to their personal libraries.
D. CORMACK
Microbiology Text Aquatic Microbiology (Third Edition). G. Rheinheimer. A. Wiley-Interscience Publication, 1985. Price £17.95. ISBN 0 471 90657 3. This book is intended to provide microbiology students with an introduction to aquatic microbiology. It begins with a very brief classification (only 7 pages) of different kinds of aquatic habitats. The following 3 chapters discuss the Bacteria, Fungi, and Cyanophyta which are found in aquatic environments and their relationships with terrestrial forms. It is assumed in discussion that the reader is already familiar with first-year undergraduate level microbiology. There is also a chapter on aquatic viruses but since this is a mere 1 I/2 pages it provides little information. This is followed by two much more substantial chapters on quantitative distribution of microorganisms and the relationship with environmental factors like light, temperature, dissolved gases, pressure, turbidity, etc. There is also a chapter discussing the microorganisms inhabiting plants and animals. 477
sources of which are not always acknowledged) and several graphical models. Some of the latter are difficult to interpret and one is inaccurate. Figure l b is the author's version of Lorenz's now dated, psychohydraulic model of motivation (referred to as the flush toilet model in the text) in the form of boxes and arrows. It falls into the error of including a feedback pathway, which is not a feature of the original model.
STEWART M. EVANS
Fingerprinting Oil Characterization of Spilled Oil Samples. Purpose, Sampling, Analysis and Interpretation. J. A. Butt, D. E Duckworth and S. G. Perry (Eds). Published on behalf of The Institute of Petroleum, London by John Wiley & Sons, 1985. Price £17.50. ISBN 0471 90890 8. This useful little volume, 95 pages, supersedes Marine Pollution by Oil which was published by the Institute of Petroleum in 1974. At that time the aim was simply to provide an account of the methods to be used for the characterization of samples of spilled oil. The present volume is however wider in scope. Apart from successfully bringing the account of methods up to date, it seeks to explain the purposes which may be served by oil characterization in specific circumstances and as such covers the needs of many individuals in addition to analysts. Thus the book should be useful to a wide readership including non oil industry personnel involved in oil spill clearance, officials charged with monitoring compliance with discharge regulations, and managers of oil related enterprises, who may from time to time be required to ascertain whether a reported pollution incident has originated from their operations and, if so, to track down the specific source, or even to defend themselves against wrongful accusations. In order to satisfy the requirements of this wider readership, the book covers administrative aspects, legal requirements, sampling and analytical methods, the nature and chemical composition of crude and product oils, and the changes which these oils undergo on exposure to the elements after spillage, together with the implications of these factors for the analytical and characterisation process. The sampling chapter covering collection, documentation, storage, and transportation is good and leads nicely to a consideration of the preparation of samples for analysis through the use of filtration, centrifugation, extraction, and separation into fractions. In addition the use of representative samples for correlation purposes and training is described and distinguished from reference materials which, in this context is taken to mean samples collected from potential sources for comparison with a pollutant to help trace the source and offender. About half the book is devoted to current analytical methods and provides satisfactorily concise and comprehensive accounts of current practice in the main and supplementary areas together with indications of trends. Gas chromatography for the separation of samples into their characteristic components at both high and low
resolution is discussed in relation to crude, fuel, lubricating, and vegetable oils with appropriate illustrative examples. The use of mass spectrometry to identify characteristic components is well described as are the computerized data handling systems required to fully utilise this approach. Infrared methods are also covered with examples of spectra obtained for a crude, heavy fuel, and two vegetable oils. There is a usefully detailed treatment of the use of luminecence spectra in the form of conventional fluorescence, synchronous excitation fluorescence and total fluorescence spectroscopy. Reference is also made to the use of heteroelements such as nickel, vanadium, and sulphur and of trace metals in the characterization of oils. Among the supplementary methods and trends high performance liquid chromatography, thin layer chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance, stable isotopes, and the latest methods of pattem recognition are covered. Newcomers to the subject might prefer to read Chapter 5, Chemical Constitution of Petroleum and Its Application to Spill Identification, immediately after the Introduction and Chapter 2, Administrative Aspects, in order to gain an understanding of the complexity of crude oil and its products before reading Chapter 3, Oily Pollutants found in the Marine Environment and Their Fate. Having at this stage read Chapter 3 they will understand how the changes in composition of these complex mixtures, which occur on exposure to the elements, further complicate the analytical problem and how they need to be taken account of in the characterisation process. Chapter 4, Samples: Their Collection, Storage and Transportation can then be read as a prelude to the main section, Chapter 6, The Analytical Approach to Spill Identification. In any case, all those whom the Editor in Chief and his colleagues had in mind in writing this book will find it useful and a valuable addition to their personal libraries.
D. CORMACK
Microbiology Text Aquatic Microbiology (Third Edition). G. Rheinheimer. A. Wiley-Interscience Publication, 1985. Price £17.95. ISBN 0 471 90657 3. This book is intended to provide microbiology students with an introduction to aquatic microbiology. It begins with a very brief classification (only 7 pages) of different kinds of aquatic habitats. The following 3 chapters discuss the Bacteria, Fungi, and Cyanophyta which are found in aquatic environments and their relationships with terrestrial forms. It is assumed in discussion that the reader is already familiar with first-year undergraduate level microbiology. There is also a chapter on aquatic viruses but since this is a mere 1 I/2 pages it provides little information. This is followed by two much more substantial chapters on quantitative distribution of microorganisms and the relationship with environmental factors like light, temperature, dissolved gases, pressure, turbidity, etc. There is also a chapter discussing the microorganisms inhabiting plants and animals. 477