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Investigating the effect of oil spills
on the environment and public health.
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Geoffrey D. Bothun

University of Rhode Island

Department of Chemical Engineering

205 Crawford Hall
Kingston , RI  02811  

gbothun@uri.edu

Project List:

Molecular Engineering of Food-Grade Dispersants as Highly Efficient and Safe Materials for the Treatment of Oil Spills

Year 6-8 Investigator Grants (RFP-V)Role: Co-Principal Investigator

Consortium for the Molecular Engineering of Dispersant Systems (C-MEDS)

Year 2-4 Consortia Grants (RFP-I)Role: Co-Principal Investigator, Task Co-Lead

Publications & Presentations:

Journal Articles - 5

2019

Fernandes, J. C., Agrawal, N. R., Aljirafi, F. O., Bothun, G. D., McCormick, A. V., John, V. T., et al. (2019). Does the Solvent in a Dispersant Impact the Efficiency of Crude-Oil Dispersion? Langmuir, 35(50), 16630–16639.
Omarova, M., Swientoniewski, L. T., Mkam Tsengam, I. K., Blake, D. A., John, V., McCormick, A., et al. (2019). Biofilm Formation by Hydrocarbon-Degrading Marine Bacteria and Its Effects on Oil Dispersion. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng., 7(17), 14490–14499.

2017

Rocchio, J., Neilsen, J., Everett, K., & Bothun, G. D. (2017). A solvent-free lecithin-Tween 80 system for oil dispersion. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 533, 218–223.

2015

Riehm, D. A., Neilsen, J. E., Bothun, G. D., John, V. T., Raghavan, S. R., & McCormick, A. V. (2015). Efficient dispersion of crude oil by blends of food-grade surfactants: Toward greener oil-spill treatments. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 101(1), 92–97.

2014

Gupta, A., Sender, M., Fields, S., & Bothun, G. D. (2014). Phase and sedimentation behavior of oil (octane) dispersions in the presence of model mineral aggregates. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 87(1-2), 164–170.

Conference Presentations - 16

2019

Bothun, G., Rocchio, J., Ganji, N., McCormick, A., John, V., & Raghavan, S. (2019). Microscopic Evolution of Biofilm Formation in Dispersed Oil Droplet-Bacteria Agglomerates. In Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference 2019. New Orleans, LA : 02/04/19-02/07/19.
Mkam Tsengam, I., Omarova, M., Rocchio, J., Agrawal, N., Swientoniewski, L., Raghavan, S., et al. (2019). The self-assembly of dispersants at the oil-water interface probed through small angle neutron scattering and cryogenic electron microscopy. In Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference 2019. New Orleans, LA : 02/04/19-02/07/19: Poster.

2018

Ganji, N., Rocchio, J., Raghavan, S. R., McCormick, A. V., Bothun, G. D., & John, V. T. (2018). Microscopic evolution of biofilm formation in dispersed oil droplet-bacteria agglomerates. In 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting. Pittsburgh, PA : 10/28/18 - 11/02/18.
McCormick, A. V., Bothun, G. D., John, V. T., & Raghavan, S. R. (2018). Efficient dispersion of crude oil by food-grade surfactants: The potential of lecithin. In 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting. Pittsburgh, PA : 10/28/18 - 11/02/18.
Rocchio, J., & Bothun, G. D. (2018). Surfactant enhanced bioremediation of oil by Alcanivorax borkumensis using oil dispersed by food-grade amphiphiles. In Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference 2018. New Orleans, LA : 02/05/18-02/08/18.
Tsengam, I., Omarova, M., Raghavan, S. R., McCormick, A. V., Bothun, G. D., & John, V. T. (2018). Composition-driven structural transitions from vesicles to bicelles to micelles using phospholipid and nonionic surfactant mixtures. In 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting. Pittsburgh, PA : 10/28/18 - 11/02/18.
Tsengam, I., Omarova, M., Rocchio, J., Swientoniewski, L., Agrawal, N. R., Blake, D., et al. (2018). A comprehensive view of an effective alternative dispersant system using food grade surfactants. In Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference 2018. New Orleans, LA : 02/05/18-02/08/18.

2017

Bothun, G. D., John, V., Blake, D., Swientoniewski, L., Omarova, M., Rocchio, J., et al. (2017). Growth of Alcanivorax borkumensis using oil dispersed by food grade amphiphiles. In Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference 2017. New Orleans, LA : 02/06/17-02/09/17: Poster.
Bothun, G. D., Rocchio, J., John, V., Raghavan, S., & McCormick, A. (2017). Oil Spill Dispersion with Food-Grade Amphiphiles: Formation of Oil-Bacteria Agglomerates During Oil Biodegradation. In 2017 AIChE Annual Meeting. Minneapolis, MN : 10/29/17-11/03/17.
McCormick, A., Athas, J., Neilsen, K., Bothun, G., John, V., Raghavan, S., et al. (2017). Efficient Dispersion of Crude Oil by Blends of Food-Grade Surfactants: Toward Greener Oil Spill Treatments. In Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference 2017. New Orleans, LA : 02/06/17-02/09/17.
McCormick, A., Athas, J., Neilsen, K., Bothun, G., John, V., Raghavan, S., et al. (2017). Efficient Dispersion of Crude Oil by Blends of Food-Grade Surfactants: Toward Greener Oil Spill Treatments. In 2017 AIChE Annual Meeting. Minneapolis, MN : 10/29/17-11/03/17.
Rocchio, J., Neilson, J., Everett, K., & Bothun, G. D. (2017). Oil emulsification in seawater using aqueous lecithin/Tween 80 self-assemblies. In Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference 2017. New Orleans, LA : 02/06/17-02/09/17: Poster.

2014

Fanaritas, N., Rocchio, J., Fields, S., & Bothun, G. D. (2014). Environmentally Responsible Oil Cleanup through Dispersion with Lipid-Coated Silica Particles. In Northeast AlChE Student Conference, University of Connecticut. Storrs,CT - 04/04/2014-04/05/2014: Poster.
Rocchio, J., Sender, M., Fields, S., Fanaritas, N., & Bothun, G. D. (2014). Polysorbate 80/Lecithin Micellar Mixtures as Alternative Oil Dispersants. In Northeast AlChE Student Conference, University of Connecticut. Storrs, CT - 04/04/2014-04/05/2014: Poster.

2013

Bothun, G., Gupta, A., Zhang, H., Fields, S., & Oyenandal-Craver, V. (2013). Silica Nanoparticle Oil-in-Water Pickering Emulsions in Deionized Water and Artificial Seawater. In Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill & Ecosystem Science Conference 2013. New Orleans, LA: 01/21/2013-01/23/2013.
Bothun, G., Gupta, A., Zhang, H., Fields, S., & Oyenandal-Craver, V. (2013). Nutrient-doped silica nanoparticle Pickering emulsions for enhanced oil biodegradation. In ACS Annual Conference. New Orleans, LA, April 7-11, 2013.