A-DROP: A predictive model for the formation of oil particle aggregates (OPAs)

• A new conceptual–numerical model, A-DROP, to predict OPA formation was developed.
• A new conceptual formulation of oil–particle coagulation efficiency was introduced.
• The model closely reproduced the oil trapping efficiency of experimental data.
• OPA formation in breaker, surf, and swash zone of nearshore environment was predicted.

Oil–particle interactions play a major role in removal of free oil from the water column. We present a new conceptual–numerical model, A-DROP, to predict oil amount trapped in oil–particle aggregates. A new conceptual formulation of oil–particle coagulation efficiency is introduced to account for the effects of oil stabilization by particles, particle hydrophobicity, and oil–particle size ratio on OPA formation. A-DROP was able to closely reproduce the oil trapping efficiency reported in experimental studies. The model was then used to simulate the OPA formation in a typical nearshore environment. Modeling results indicate that the increase of particle concentration in the swash zone would speed up the oil–particle interaction process; but the oil amount trapped in OPAs did not correspond to the increase of particle concentration. The developed A-DROP model could become an important tool in understanding the natural removal of oil and developing oil spill countermeasures by means of oil–particle aggregation.