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Analysis of Emissions from Methods to Improve Combustion Efficiency of In Situ Oil Burns
Citation:
Aurell, J. AND B. Gullett. Analysis of Emissions from Methods to Improve Combustion Efficiency of In Situ Oil Burns. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-23/311, 2024.
Impact/Purpose:
This report addresses a remediation technology for oil spills. The work examined the combustion efficiency improvements of burning spilled oil in a restricted boom geometry. If successful, the embodiment of this work would provide an improved technology for clean up of spilled oil. The results would be of interest to first responders and on-scene coordinators that have to make remediation technology decisions.
Description:
In-situ burning (ISB) is the controlled burning of oil spilled from a vessel or pipeline. There were multiple ISB events after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on April 20, 2010, including 410 ISBs conducted by the Coast Guard [1]. Proponents of ISB suggest that it offers a rapid and simple means of reducing the environmental impact of oil spill. During ISBs, the majority of spilled oil is converted to gaseous combustion products. ISB emits a black plume composed of 80-84% carbon dioxide (CO2) and water; the remaining components are other gases and soot particles. One of the main concerns with ISB is the trace gas constituents and particulate matter (PM) in the smoke plume. Measuring smoke/combustion emission is crucial to quantify the potential release of air toxics, PM, and other pollutants over a wide area.BSEE, the project sponsor, is pursuing a line of research to conduct full-scale tests of modified boom configurations in the Canadian Multi-Partner Research Initiative Offshore Burn Experiments (MOBE) planned for the summer of 2023. This current effort intends to determine if alternate boom geometries will result in a reduction of particulate matter (PM) and trace pollutants in the plume and reduced amounts of burn residue. Lessons learned from this current effort are intended to be applied to the MOBE effort.The EPA ORD will deploy its lightweight emission sampling/sensor system, the “Kolibri,” on a UAS for particle and gas measurements in the ISB plume. This system has undergone significant laboratory and field testing of performance (response time, calibration, recovery time, precision, accuracy, effect of interferents). Among other measurements, the Kolibri is comprised of sensors for CO2 and carbon monoxide (CO), both critical measurements for determination