Environment effects of oil spill combustion

Technical Report · Thu Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:6899674

Evans, D; Mulholland, G; Gross, D; Baum, H; Saito, K

Experimentation and analysis were performed to quantify the combustion of crude oil on water. The burning behavior of three crude oils -- ALBERTA SWEET, LA ROSE, and MURBAN, were studied using 1.2-m-diameter pool burns; in 0.6-m-diameter pool fires using ALBERTA SWEET, combustion products were collected for extensive chemical analysis. The analysis showed that about 10% of the crude oil was converted to smoke in the combustion process. The CO concentration was a factor of 25 lower than the primary gaseous product CO/sub 2/, and the emission of NO and NOx were less than one thousandth the concentration of CO/sub 2/. The PAH content of the smoke was enriched in the larger molecular weight species in comparison with the original fuel. A methodology was developed with which the down-wind dispersal of smoke generated by one or more oil-spill fires in close proximity may be predicted.

• Research Organization: National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NEL), Gaithersburg, MD (USA). Center for Fire Research
• OSTI ID: 6899674
• Report Number(s): PB-89107726/XAB; NISTIR-88/3822
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020900* -- Petroleum-- Environmental Aspects
500200 -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
520200 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
AEROSOLS
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
COLLOIDS
COMBUSTION PRODUCTS
CONTROL
DISPERSIONS
ENERGY SOURCES
FIRES
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
MATERIALS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
OIL SPILLS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM
PLUMES
POLLUTION CONTROL
RESIDUES
RISK ASSESSMENT
SHIPS
SMOKES
SOLS
TANKER SHIPS
TOXIC MATERIALS
WATER POLLUTION CONTROL