Modelling of Critical Parameters of Oil Spill

Abstract

Abstract Oil spill is considered as one of the biggest ecological disasters due to the scale of the impact it has, on the ecosystem being affected. Offshore oil spills have proven to be a global concern for marine ecosystem and appropriate measures for their control, prevention and removal of contaminants must be considered as top priority. This paper entails a detailed study of the various available oil spill clean-up techniques and looks at its advantages and limitations. Further, a grading system for all these methods based on oil type, treatment volume, weather conditions, complexity, water turbulence, time required for results, their environmental impact, cost and efficiency is prepared. In the case of a spill, oil dispersion behavior acts differently for different kind of fluids on sea water depending on their properties, with the effect of turbulence being one of the critical factors. This paper also focuses on the study of different behavior of crude oil and gasoline on sea water using a commercially available CFD (computational fluid dynamics) tool which utilizes more accurate and relevant mathematical formulations. A multiphase oil spill model has been developed to simulate dispersion of oil spill. A consistent Eulerian approach and Navier-Stokes equations is applied across the model, and the diffusion is employed to simulate oil dynamics in the water. The used Multiphase Oil Spill Model takes advantage of recent developments in the areas of CFD.