Coral Bay Shore Zones Tar Ball Distribution

Oil spill and wastewater discharge to the marine waters contribute to the tar ball formation after the residue washout to the sandy beaches. The oil degrades over time through dynamic changes of the hydrocarbon compounds once exposed to the environmental factors which influences the fate and transport of the oil residue. Tar balls collected from Coral Bay shore zone which is used for recreational activities are 100 gm/strip with up to 6 cm in diameter. The collected tar ball was analyzed using FID gas chromatography after 50% n-hexane and dichloromethane extraction and fingerprint to the diesel and crude oils. The tar ball sample contains beta-pregnane (22-29%) and dotriacontane (52-68%) which accumulate over long time from crude oil spills in the Strait of Malacca.