Chapter 14 - Advances in burning process and their impact on the environment

Abstract

In situ burning (ISB) is a practical, safe, and economical fire controlled operation widely used in offshore oil spills caused by oil vessels, blowouts from offshore well, and leakage from oil pipelines. Even though ISB technique produces a high amount of smoke and other emissive compounds, it burns oil immediately and prevents further oil spreading to the ocean. However, the ISB technique needs to be deployed meticulously, else, volatile hydrocarbons only will be burnt from oil but, heavier oil molecules will be remaining as residue that becomes difficult to manage. The ISB is also considered as an effective method to eliminate the combustible materials for onshore oil spill. When the right conditions are set on the affected area, it will help to burn a large quantity of oil in a short time and prevent contamination of soil, surface water, vegetation etc. ISB protects the environment by burning oil molecules quickly and effectively while other techniques retain the oil on the surface for a longer duration. This chapter discusses various operational techniques and equipment used for ISB and their impact on the environment.