A Novel Oil-Water Emulsion Burner Concept for Offshore Oil Spill Clean Up

• Main Authors: Arsava, Kemal S., Sezer, Hayri, Rangwala, Ali S.
• Other Authors: Department of Fire Protection Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center 2016
• Subjects: offshore oil spill; Beaufort Sea
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/193671

Presentation In-situ burning has been considered as a primary spill response option for oil spills since offshore drilling began in the Beaufort Sea (1970s). Since then, many studies and tests have been performed but researchers are still looking for a more efficient, simple and low cost way to burn the oil faster and as completely as possible. In this study, a new burner concept capable of enhanced combustion of oil-water emulsions and requiring no atomizing nozzles, moving parts and compressed gas for operation is discussed. The operating principle is based on use of immersed noncombustible objects of suitable geometry to transfer the heat generated by the combustion back to the fuel to create a feedback loop thereby sustain an increased burning rate. A 0.5 meter diameter prototype burner showing the viability of the design concept is discussed. Tests show that the submersed lower part of the conductive object can get hot enough to sustain nucleate boiling, significantly increasing the burning rate, when compared to the baseline pool fire, where vaporization is achieved solely by evaporation at the pool surface.