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Over time (12 hrs - 3 days), oil in spills becomes weathered. The more volatile compounds evaporate, photo-oxidation takes place, and the oil to some degree fo
by whyenot 16y ago
Over time (12 hrs - 3 days), oil in spills becomes weathered. The more volatile compounds evaporate, photo-oxidation takes place, and the oil to some degree forms an emulsion with sea water. It's not like oil straight out of a well, and probably wouldn't be worth very much or useful for much of anything.
- krschultz 16y agoIt is still usable, both for asphalt and for burning in some furnaces. It won't end up in your car but it will be used. I'm pretty sure Slate.com had an explanation of this recently: http://www.slate.com/id/2252136/ http://www.slate.com/id/2252136/ As for oil/water emulsion in sea water, having been around that stuff one thing people don't point out is the stench. It is at or worse than sewage.