baseline study of residual petroleum hydrocarbons in the ports of Yemen

ABSTRACT

This investigation involves the utilization of spectrofluorimetric determination to establish the petroleum residues in water samples, during 22-30 November 2006, from the Yemeni ports. Gas chromatographic analyses were conducted to characterize the extracted hydrocarbons. The result confirmed the level reported previously for the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and the Red Sea. Concentration of petroleum residues, in solution through the Yemeni ports water column, were found to vary from 7,728-14.868 microg L[1-] with a mean concentration of Yemeni ports 12.926 microg L[1-] [Marib crude oil equivalents], from 0.02-0.10 [TOC%] with a mean concentration 0.055 [TOC%] in the Yemeni ports. Regional variations are attributed to different sources of oil pollution, as well as to the in-homogenous nature of oil-water mixture. The importance of these data can be comprehended by the fact that they establish for the first time background and patterns of Residual Petroleum Hydrocarbons and Total Organic Carbon in Yemeni ports. These data are the first of their kind for the region