Surfacewashing Agents Or Beach Cleaners

Surface washing agents or beach cleaners or shoreline cleaning agents, are formulations containing surfactants and are designed to remove oil from surfaces such as shorelines. The desired mechanism is that of detergency rather than dispersion. These agents generally have properties different from dispersants and are of typically lower aquatic toxicity, do not disperse oil except at higher mixing energies and are applied quite differently than dispersants. Surface washing agents are typically applied on oil stranded on beaches during low-tide phases and then the oil is removed using low-pressure water and directed toward an oil recovery area. This version of the report reviews the old work and updates the topic until 2013.