Fritt-Rasmussen, Janne

Jomaas, Grunde

Kallinikos, Dimitrios

Rangwala, Ali S.

van Gelderen, Laurens

Online Research Database In Technology

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Downloaded from orbit.dtu.dk on: Dec 17, 2017In-situ burning of crude oil in the ArcticUnderstanding and predicting the environmental impactvan Gelderen, Laurens; Fritt-Rasmussen, Janne; Kallinikos, Dimitrios; Rangwala, Ali S.; Jomaas, GrundePublication date:2014Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordLink back to DTU OrbitCitation (APA):van Gelderen, L., Fritt-Rasmussen, J., Kallinikos, D., Rangwala, A. S., & Jomaas, G. (2014). In-situ burning ofcrude oil in the Arctic: Understanding and predicting the environmental impact. Poster session presented at 11thInternational Symposium on Fire Safety Science, Christchurch, New Zealand.In-situ burning of crude oil in the Arctic Laurens van Gelderen†, Janne Fritt-Rasmussen‡, Dimitrios Kallinikos†, Ali S. Rangwala*, Grunde Jomaas† †Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark ‡Danish Centre for Environment and Energy, Aarhus University, Denmark *Department of Fire Protection Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, US Background Mechanistic studies Contact Contact Laurens van Gelderen (lauge@byg.dtu.dk) and/or Grunde Jomaas (grujo@byg.dtu.dk) for more information or to express interest in participation, or visit our webpage: www.isboil.dtu.dk. Oil spills are the main threat to the Arctic environment and with the expected increase of e.g. naval and oil drilling activities, accidents become increasingly more likely. Due to the special conditions featured in the Arctic, in-situ burning is in many situations the most effective cleaning method. The technique has shown high burning efficiencies of over 90% and is easily deployable in icy waters.[1] However, few studies have been undertaken on the influence of ice on the ignition and burning behavior of oils and the resulting impact on the Arctic environment. In this Ph.D. study the focus lies on  determining and minimizing the environmental impact in-situ burning can have, based on a mechanistic understanding of the burning process. Understanding and predicting the environmental impact Different type of ice/oil interactions. The target area of this study is highlighted in the red oval[2] Sociopolitical aspects While in-situ burning has been successfully applied during a number of oil spills over the past decennia and the technique is seen as the best response method for oil spills by many scientists, it is not commonly seen on political agendas.[7] In general, in-situ burning seems to have a bad reputation amongst decision-makers and the public. Environmental uncertainties will have to be solved before acceptance can be gained, such as: • Toxicity of combustion products • Smoke formation • Cleaning of the residue Boilover Boilovers are well-known phenomena in laboratory setups, but are not seen during in-situ burnings on sea.[1] Due to the ocean current, the water below the oil would be refreshed too quickly to heat up. Determine boilover possibilities for: • Sea currents • Still waters        Burn efficiency Optimization in terms of: • Oil composition  • Layer thickness  • Spill diameter • Ambient conditions The goal To develop a simple, applicable procedure for in-situ burning of crude oil under Arctic conditions.   This goal is to be reached in three distinctive steps: • Understand the mechanisms of in-situ  burning under Arctic conditions • Understand and be able to predict the environmental impact on the Arctic • Adept to the demands and concerns of decision-makers and the public References Window of opportunity In-situ burning can only be used within a certain time frame after an oil spill, known as the window of opportunity. This is determined by: • Oil evaporation • Weathering[4]          Ice influence How does ice influence the  burning mechanics? • Boil over • Burn efficiency • Window of opportunity Left: regular burning. Right: boilover. Conducted with the new COFA setup[3] Ignitability of the oil in relation to water mixing[4] Environmental impact Toxicity The toxicity of the combustion products from in-situ burning is a very important aspect of this technique. Especially the relative toxic impact (Δtox), compared to an unhandled oil spill or other response methods, determines whether or not in-situ burning is a favorable response method. The main toxicity areas concern the: • Sub surface • Surface • Sea bottom • Airborne • Long-term studies • Dilution • Chemical enhancers Residue After the in-situ burning of a crude oil a residue will be left behind. Depending on the burn efficiency, the residue can vary from a thin liquid layer to a thick solid-like layer. Under certain conditions, the density of the residue can increase upon cooling even to the point where it becomes heavier than water and sinks.[6] This phenomenon creates a potential time constraint for the cleaning of the residue. Hence more knowledge about the sinking of residues is required and a quick and effective cleaning method should be developed. Thus the main topics regarding the residue are: • Window of opportunity for cleaning • More efficient cleaning methods  Smoke formation during in-situ burning[4] which can be reduced by chemical additives Smoke and soot One of the biggest concerns related to the environmental impact of in-situ burning is the large amount of black smoke that is formed during the process. The black color is caused by soot originating from incomplete combustion of the oil. Smoke formation can be reduced via: • Mechanistic optimization • Chemical additives (e.g. ferrocene)[5] After cooling, the formed residue can possibly sink in a short time window, blocking cleaning options[3] During the burning the density of the oil gradually increases which can result in residues heavier than water Manual cleaning of oil. Effective but unpractical  (Photo: P. J. Brandvik) [1] Buist, I. A., Potter, S. G., Trudel, B. K., Walker, A. H., Scholz, D. K., Brandvik, P. J., Fritt-Rasmussen, J., Allen, A. A., & Smith, P. (2013). In Situ Burning in Ice-Affected Waters: A Technology Summary and Lessons from Key Experiments: Arctic Response Technology. [2] AMAP (1998). AMAP Assessment Report: Arctic Pollution Issues. Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Oslo, Norway, pp. xii+859. [3] Brogaard, N. L., Sørensen, M. X., Fritt-Rasmussen, J., Rangwala, A. S. & Jomaas, G. (2014). A new Experimental Rig for Oil Burning on Water – Results for Crude and Pure Oils. Conference paper, IAFSS 2014. [4] Fritt-Rasmussen, J. (2010). In situ burning of Arctic marin oil spills: Ignitability of various oil types weathered at different ice conditions. A combined laboratory and field study. (Ph.D.), Technical University of Denmark, Report R-229. [5] Mitchell, J. B. A. (1991). Smoke reduction from burning crude oil using ferrocene and its derivatives. Combustion and Flame, 86(1–2), 179-184. [6] Potter, S., & Buist, I. (2008). In-situ burning for oil spills in arctic waters: State-of-the-art and future research needs. In W. F. Davidson, K. Lee & A. Cogswell (Eds.), Oil Spill Response: A Global Perspective (pp. 23-39). [7] Potter, S. G., Buist, I. A., Trudel, B. K., Walker, A. H., Brandvik, P. J., Fritt-Rasmussen, J., & Allen, A. A. (2013). In Situ Burning in Ice-Affected Waters: Status of Regulations in Arctic and Sub-Arctic Countries: Arctic Response Technology. RFeROil in ice-covered water[4] t = 0 sec t = 3 sec t = 5 sec t = 9 sec t = 10 sec 

In-situ burning of crude oil in the Arctic:Understanding and predicting the environmental impact

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In-situ burning of crude oil in the Arctic:Understanding and predicting the environmental impact

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