Hydrocarbons in Seawater and Water Extract of Jarzouna-Bizerte Coastal of Tunisia (Mediterranean Sea): Petroleum Origin Investigation Around Refinery Rejection Place

Abstract

We investigated the composition and spatial distribution of non-aromatic, aromatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) found in seawater and water extracted from refinery rejection effluents in the coastal area of Jarzouna, Tunisia. Water samples were analysed for hydrocarbons by gas chromatography. Total hydrocarbon levels ranged between 46 and 76 mg/L in seawater samples and between 28 and 102 mg/L in water extracts. The sites nearest to the oil refinery were found to be chronically contaminated by total petroleum hydrocarbons based on aliphatic biomarkers. PAH contamination is generally much more pyrolytic than petrogenic. This study helped to determine the concentration, spatial distribution, compound profiles and possible sources of various petroleum compounds, thus contributing significantly to a greater understanding of the background of petroleum hydrocarbon levels, the various types of anthropogenic input involved and the contribution of the Société Tunisienne des Industries de Raffinage refinery's effluents in terms of hydrocarbon pollution.

Concentrations and Sources of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Seawater around Langkawi Island, Malaysia

“…As shown in Table 3, the PAH concentrations in the whole surface seawater of Langkawi Island were approximately 1 order of magnitude lower than water from Bay of Biscay, France [23] and about 1 to 2 orders of magnitude lower than water from Jarzouna Coast, Bizerte, Tunisia [25] and in the Yellow River Delta, China [24]. Additionally, they were nearly similar to the levels presented in the dissolved water of Jiulong River Estuary and Western Xiamen Sea, China [33] and water from the Jetty of Redcar, England [26].…”

Impact of treated sewage on meiobenthic nematodes: a case study from the Tunisian Refining Industries Company

“…In Tunisia, the "Tunisian Refining Industries Company (TRIC)", established in 1961, is located near the Bay of Bizerte (latitude 37°.2562176184 N and longitude 9°.88961598291 E). It operates as the only industrial area specialized in refining crude oil in Tunisia (Zrafi-Nouira et al, 2009). The continuous flow of hydrocarbons discharged with the washing and cooling water from TRIC, as well as the wastewater spread occurring during jettison, imply that hydrocarbon concentration of the waste water may occasionally exceed the acceptable standards (Beyrem and Aïssa, 2000).…”

“…This could be the onset of ecological disturbance in areas where such activities take place. This company uses seawater for treating the oil effluents in the refining process and in the cleaning of petroleum tanks (Zrafi-Nouira et al, 2009, 2010. According to Zrafi-Nouira et al (2009, 2010, the water to be treated undergoes progressively into five successive decantation tanks, in order to extract the maximum oil, with the seawater used in the procedure being discharged in the Bizerte bay.…”

How effective is wastewater treatment? A case study under the light of taxonomic and feeding features of meiobenthic nematodes

“…The heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Hg, and Fe) concentrations in wastewater samples were analyzed after mineralization by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (Ben Garali et al 2008). The oils present in wastewater were measured as described by Zrafi-Nouira et al (2009). The fecal coliforms were counted following the protocol described in the literature (BIO-RAD 2013).…”