Sense and Sensibility
Dr. Robert M. Gresham, Contributing Editor | TLT Lubrication Fundamentals March 2011
Science shows how microbes similar to those found in MWFs helped mitigate the effects of a national disaster.
I always thought the book title Sense and Sensibility had a nice sound to it and made you think just a little. It makes me want to look for ways of applying these concepts to other things around us.
Of course, the word “sense” has several definitions. I think of the term “common sense” and the idea of the result of logical thinking, as in, “That makes sense.”
“Sensibility” has more to do with the capacity for being affected emotionally or intellectually, whether pleasantly or unpleasantly. So with that as context, and this issue of TLT being dedicated to metalworking topics, I got to thinking about one aspect of the recent BP oil spill.
Now you say, what does metalworking have to do with the BP spill? And what does sense and sensibility have to do with either? You would have to be either the ultimate narcissist or just brain dead not to have a strong emotional response to the implications of an oil spill of such epic proportions. Aside from the impact on the human condition in the gulf area, the utter assault on Mother Nature is beyond our comprehension.
Images of dying marine and avian life, huge oil slicks, spoiled beaches and marshes, the list goes on and certainly Evokes powerful feelings—the images assault our sensibilities.
In the aftermath, we struggled with trying to take the right corrective measures in an unprecedented situation. This includes a witch hunt for the guilty, a method for capping the well, cleanup of the accessible part of the spill, cleanup and remediation of the beaches and marshes, first aid to affected animals, aid for the businesses and people affected and so on. The list is long.
While rightly, as a society, we accept responsibility for it all, it happens that we have a powerful ally—mother Nature herself.
As those of you in the metalworking community know well, Mother Nature’s little microbes are a surprisingly resistant, resilient and resourceful force. Dr. Fred Passman, BCA Inc., in STLE’s various MWF education courses, loves to wax eloquent on the power and majesty of the little guys. In the metalworking industry, microbial action on the fluids results in any of a number of negative consequences such as plugging filters and screens, health and safety problems, poor cutting performance and shorter tool life, to name a few.
Fred tells the story: “Back in 1977-79 I was spending 2-4 weeks a quarter at sea collecting samples from the water surface, multiple depths of the water column and from surface sediments off the New England coast. We discovered that about 90% of the microbial community could use hydrocarbons as their sole carbon source. Around that same time (December 1976) the Argo Merchant sunk off the coast of Rhode island (within the boundaries of our survey area). By April 1977 the hydrocarbons in the water and sediment in the vicinity of the sunken vessel had changed sufficiently to no longer resemble the original fuel. This was due to a combination of factors, including mechanical dispersion and photo-oxidation. However, biodegradation was the primary factor contributing to the change.”
A more dramatic example is offered in a recent Wall Street Journal article, “Microbes Mopped Up after the Spill” by Robert Lee Holtz. The article describes the results of a federally funded field study that “offers peer-reviewed evidence that naturally occurring microbes in the gulf devoured significant amounts of toxic chemicals in natural gas and oil spewing from the sea floor, which researchers thought would persist in the region’s water chemistry for years.”
Scientists estimate that 200,000 tons or more of methane (20% of the hydrocarbons released) and about 4.4 million barrels of petroleum were released. The crude oil either settled on the sea floor within a mile or so of the well head, floated to the surface, washed ashore or was dispersed by surfactants added to the sea. Federal officials managing the cleanup released a report last month that “there was no longer any significant oil from the spill left offshore and no evidence of chemical dispersants in the water that exceeded federal safety standards.”
John Kessler, Texas A&M, led a study showing that the oxygen level of the ocean dropped in an amount consistent With the amount of oxygen needed by methane microbes to consume the estimated amount of methane released. These little varmints are found to dwell not only in the depths of the gulf but also in almost every continental margin around the world where subsurface reservoirs of methane naturally exist. Further, the climate-change folks say this naturally occurring methane is also a greenhouse gas 24 times more potent than carbon dioxide and it is basically kept in check by these helpful little guys from release to the atmosphere.
Thus, speaking strictly scientifically, the BP oil spill was little more than a gourmet feast of microbial munchies for multitudes of microbes. So while the spill rightly outraged our sensibilities, the application of study and common sense has put these sensibilities into better perspective.
Bob Gresham is STLE’s director of professional development. You can reach him at rgresham@stle.org.