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EVALUATION OF MIXING ENERGY IN FLASKS USED FOR DISPERSANT EFFECTIVENESS TESTING
Citation:
Kaku, V. J., M. C. Boufadel, AND A D. Venosa*. EVALUATION OF MIXING ENERGY IN FLASKS USED FOR DISPERSANT EFFECTIVENESS TESTING. Environmental Studie, Chapter 4, C.A. Brebbia (ed.), Coastal Environment: Environmental Problems in Coastal Regions IV (COASTAL ENVIRONMENT 2002). WIT Press, Boston, MA, 8:., (2002).
Description:
A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) laboratory screening protocol for dispersant effectiveness consists of placing water, oil, and a dispersant in a flask and mixing the contents on an orbital shaker. Two flasks are being investigated, a simple Erlenmeyer (used in EPA's official Swirling Flask Test) and a baffled Erlenmeyer (used in a newly developed Baffled Flask Test). The baffled flask (BF) contains baffles that induce an over-and-under type of mixing that somewhat better simulates breaking waves. A hot-wire anemometer was used to measure the velocity distributions in both flasks rotating at a speed of 150 rpm. The measurements were conducted in small areas near the centers of the flasks. The average velocity distribution in the BF was about 5 times higher than that in the SF. The velocity in the BF was essentially uniform with depth, while that in the SW decreased sharply with depth. The computed energy dissipation rates were about 0.75 and 23 m2/s3 in the SF and the BF, respectively.