Burning capability of the flame refluxer under the influence of waves

Abstract

Environmental oil spills pose a significant hazard to marine ecosystems. In-situ burning is an effectively employed means of cleanup and containment due to its low cost and speed for removing large volumes of oil. Previous studies have demonstrated that new Flame Refluxer™ (FR) technology can improve the burning rate of crude oil spilled on water. This study examines the FR-enhanced burning behavior of crude oil spilled on water under the influence of waves. The wave tank platform at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory was used for these experiments. A grid-type FR was examined with no waves and under the impingement of two different waves. Thermocouple data was used to evaluate thermal penetration rates and in-depth temperature gradients, as well as a distinct foaming behavior. It is observed that waves lowered fuel temperatures, reduced thermal penetration rates, and increased heat loss to the water sublayer. It was concluded that wave steepness is proportional to the increase in heat loss to the water and inversely proportional to the thermal penetration rate.