Whats the difference between dispersants and bioremediation agents? Or is there a difference?
A. Dispersants and bioremediation agents are considered separately in oil spill response, because of two important differences between these response methods. One difference has to do with the mechanism by which they help to “clean up” oil, and the other has to do with where and how they are used. In the dispersant category are products that are applied to the water surface in order to break up surface oil slicks and facilitate the movement of oil particles into the water column. There is evidence that dispersed oil degrades more quickly than undispersed oil, perhaps because the total surface area of an oil slick increases as dispersants break up the slick into small droplets. Bioremediation agents are almost always applied to residual oil on shorelines, for long-term cleanup situations. Usually, heavy oil is first removed before bioremediation is undertaken. Bioremediation agents act by speeding up the microbial degradation of the petroleum molecules.
