Can crude oil evaporate into the atmosphere to condense later to rain down in another form?
I know that if it does evaporate that it would not condense into crude oil but I’m pretty sure that the hydrocarbon chains might bond with water or at least recombine into other maybe toxic forms form droplets like rain.
July 1st, 2010 at 9:52 am
No, the hydrocarbons will not bond with water. But crude oil is a rather complex brew of components, with polar and non-polar components. There are sulfur and nitrogen containing molecules that could be carried along with water vapor. Most of the very toxic components are of high molecular weight, and aren’t likely to evaporate, such as the polyaromatic hydrocarbon compounds (PAH).
But volatiles like benzene is carcinogenic, so those would simply be blown by the breezes.
People along the beaches say they get a headache from the smell. Those are lower molecular weight compounds being evaporated.
It is not that they are going to rain down. It is that they are simply going to be carried long distances, fouling the purity of the air.
July 1st, 2010 at 9:52 am
chemicals can evaporate and be carried in rain clouds, that is how acid rain is formed. And waterspouts in the ocean can suck up oil and who-knows-what kind of chemicals that are being used and can carry it ashore and it can rain down on land, wildlife, farms, etc.
July 1st, 2010 at 9:52 am
I’ve been in Louisiana, and there is definitely oil rain. I still don’t completely understand how the oil would evaporate, but it is clearly possible. Maybe some components of the oil are evaporating, or the UV radiation is causing other compounds to form that are easily vaporized by the heat of the sun… Or maybe the crude oil itself just happens to get hot enough and evaporates. Probably all three things are happening…
And as far as toxins forming, they are. The air is not safe in southern Louisiana, despite what you hear and see on the news.