Containment Booms Research Articles

Numerical and experimental study of oil boom motion response and oil-stopping effect under wave-current action

Little research has been done on the failure of oil booms when wave-current coupling is present. This study investigates the motion response and oil-stopping failure of the oil containment boom experimentally and numerically. The oil containment effect under wave-current and the motion response of the oil containment boom were investigated through experiments. Using CFD software FLUENT for simulation, the study established a multiphase flow analysis model to simulate the oil containment of an oil containment boom and used the volume of fluid method (VOF) to track the oil-water interface. The study compares the experimental and numerical results, which are coincident with each other, and validates the validity of the numerical model. Numerical methods are used to analyze the effects of various working conditions (water flow rate, wave parameter, wave reversal, skirt height, and initial oil spill volume) on the oil containment effect of the oil containment boom. The results show that the presence of waves accelerates the oil containment failure; compared to the wave-current flowing in the same direction, wave-current reversal is better for oil containment, and the initial oil spill volume primarily affects the thickening of the oil layer, which provides an important reference for the design of an effective oil containment boom.

Applications of bubble curtains in marine oil spill containment: Hydrodynamic characteristics, applications, and future perspectives

Although the marine oil spill pollution issue does not bring us to flock in droves as the new emerging oceanic techniques like wave energy converters, remote operated vehicle (ROV), blue ammonia and green hydrogen, the huge pollution risks of the marine oil spills caused by man-made intentional discharge, old equipment, accidental leakage, war and other aspects should arouse our sufficient attention and concern. As the primary countermeasure of emergency response to a marine oil spill, rapid & efficient oil containment is crucial to limit the pollution scope and the subsequent recovery and treatment. Here, we summarized the existing investigations on oil-spill containment with a marked emphasis on the applications of bubble curtains and their working mechanisms. The critical research progress and trends about the remediation techniques and the application of bubble curtains in marine environments were briefly introduced. The article thoroughly analyzed the basic working mechanism of the bubble curtains in oil spill containment, the technical difficulties of the existing methods, the potential application prospects of coupling with the traditional oil containment booms and the critical scientific problems to be studied in the future. Regarding the issues involving insufficient oil retention performance and inconvenient deployment of the existing traditional oil boom under complex and variable sea conditions, the performance and structural optimization of bubble curtain enhanced oil containment boom will get the top priority in developing the next-generation oil containment techniques.

STORAGE AND COLLECTION RIVER DEBRIS PLANNING IN TANGGUL RIVER SURAKARTA CITY, INDONESIA AS SOURCE OF WASTE MANAGEMENT USING THE MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION-MAKING METHOD

The Tanggul River in Surakarta City is a tributary that empties into the Bengawan Solo River. Domestic activities located on river borders can pollute with the waste generation. Therefore, managing waste sources such as storage and collection is crucial in waste management. This study aims to analyze waste management from river debris storage and collection around the study site. The technique used in this research is direct observation of the study area and performing a decision analysis for alternative processing. Decision support system has one model, namely Multi-Criteria Decision Making for environmental development. The activities for collecting and sorting river debris in the Tanggul River are not yet available. The existing river debros collection used a 7 cm diameter net that has been installed at the sluice gate of the Tanggul River. Considering aspects or criteria in implementing accommodation activities needs to be carried out before determining the best alternative. Therefore, several measures need to be considered in determining the container based on SNI 19-2454-2002 concerning Operational Procedures for Urban Waste Management and Minister of Public Works Regulation Number 3 of 2013. The collection activity in alternative 1 uses the Brute Boom system: Heavy Duty Containment Boom equipped with a galvanized weir mesh net attached under the boom. The collection activity in alternative 2 uses a floating cube. The floating cube is a cube-shaped Waste holder that can float in the river to effectively hold waste floating on the surface of the river body. It is imperative to prevent river pollution from activities by providing infrastructure for storing and collecting waste. However, it does not have a more significant impact, such as the Tanggul River to the Bengawan Solo River in Surakarta City.

Proof of concept study for in-situ burn application using conventional containment booms – Design of Burning Tongue

In situ burning (ISB) hasn’t been widely used for offshore oil spill response for various reasons. We present a feasibility study for a new ISB method – the Burning Tongue (BT) concept. We conducted scaled experiments in the Ohmsett wave tank to demonstrate its feasibility. We produced a 35-m long “tongue” of burnable oil (average oil thickness 4.2 mm – above the thickness needed for ISB) by towing a conventional boom (with a 12″ (0.3 m) deep skirt) partially filled with crude oil and then released the oil through a 6″ (0.15 m) wide opening at the apex. We found that the boom movement produced a convergence zone just downstream that kept released oil thick and also pulled oil that entrained under the boom skirt into the thick “tongue” of oil. CFD modeling was performed to explain the flow hydrodynamics and the formation of the convergence zone, which indicates the phenomenon is universal. We used small harbor boom only partially filled with oil for this study and believe that a full-scale marine boom filled with oil would achieve an even thicker “burning tongue.” The BT concept could make ISB more widely used for oil spill response in offshore areas.

Two-Dimensional Computational and Physical Modeling of High-Speed Oil Spill Containment Booms

Abstract The main measure of response to aquatic oil spills is the mechanical containment and recovery from the water surface. The majority of containment booms are not effective when the relative ...

Multiphase CFD simulation of the nearshore spilled oil behaviors

Oil spills are a serious environmental problem. To better support risk assessment and pollution control for oil spills, a good understanding of oil transport in the environment is required. This study focused on the numerical simulation of the nearshore oil behaviors based on computational fluid dynamics. Based on the Navier-Stokes momentum equations for an incompressible viscous fluid and volume of fluid (VOF) method, a 3D numerical model of three-phase transient flow was developed. The wave number, averaged flow velocity and oil properties would affect the oil spread extent and the oil volume fraction. The higher the averaged flow velocity and wave number, the lower the oil concentration, and the faster the horizontal movement of the oil. The spilled oil may move to contact the seafloor by increasing the averaged flow velocity at the inlet boundary. Through increasing the wave number, the oil would stay near the water surface. In the nearshore, where the wave is the main seawater motion, the oil containment boom should be set preferentially to the direction of wave transmission for oil cleaning. This study shows that by doubling the wave number and increasing the averaged flow velocity (ten times) at the same time, the maximum oil volume fraction would be reduced by around 32%. Finally, the water temperature had no significant impact on the oil migration, and the impact of evaporation should be considered in the simulation.

An assessment of the feasibility of using skirt containment boom together with paravanes for offshore response

Abstract The use of conventional offshore containment boom is a recognised way of containing and recovering oil spilt at sea. However, there are various operational and logistical challenges with their use. One of the largest being that their containment becomes ineffective when towed through the water at speeds of greater than 0.75 knots. Containment and collection of oil using high speed systems allows for greater tow speeds (2–3 knots) without failure and can be operated with a paravane as a single ship system. Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) have had numerous requests from its members to supply offshore containment and recovery systems suitable for a single vessel deployment. The reason for this was to help with the challenges of low availability of vessels suitable for offshore operations and to reduce high costs. OSRL have used manufacturers guidance to advise its members on the best options however wished to have its own data to further support this guidance and provide user-validated recommendations to its members. OSRL have investigated the viability of using a paravane with a conventional offshore boom using field tests. These tests focused on vessel tow speed, current speed, boom containment effectiveness and encounter area. A number of deployments were carried out using conventional inflation boom and a medium sized paravane in Southampton Water, UK in 2018 (Figure 1). Observations were gathered to identify the point of boom failure when towed at different speeds and whether a suitable encounter area could be achieved. This poster will provide the detail on the feasibility of towing a conventional offshore boom with a single vessel and paravane, see boom configuration in Figure 2. It will outline specifications and parameters which make for a successful / unsuccessful deployment of conventional boom with paravane and provide recommendations for Tier 1 single vessel deployment equipment.

Development of a Remotely Operated Subsea Containment Boom Anchor

Abstract The timely deployment of oil spill response resources is a key factor that influences response success. This is particularly true in river environments where high flow rates can quickly move oil long distances. A key success factor for a river spill is safe and rapid deployment of diversion boom. Current practice for deploying diversion boom in a river requires placing personnel in boats and then setting anchors in the river bed to hold one end of the boom. This process is both time consuming and potentially puts personnel at risk. A new system under development is designed to reduce response time and keep personnel off the water during the initial response. The system, referred to as ROSE (Remotely Operated Subsea Equipment), is a semi-permanent mooring that rests on a river bed or sea bottom. The mooring consists of a highly buoyant float connected to the mooring base. Anchor ropes attached to the buoyant float remain coiled within the mooring until release. The system is pre-deployed at priority locations determined during contingency response planning. If a spill occurs, an acoustic signal releases the float to act as an immediate anchor for diversion boom. Further, for many types of rivers, the anchor ropes attached to the float can be retrieved from shore, keeping response personnel off the water. This allows one end of the boom to be anchored in the river while the other end is anchored to the shore. Initial testing confirmed the potential of the concept. Based on the initial testing, further modifications were made to the ROSE design to increase its robustness.

Bioremediation of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) by Bioaugmentation and Biostimulation in Water with Floating Oil Spill Containment Booms as Bioreactor Basin.

A crude oil spill is a common issue during offshore oil drilling, transport and transfer to onshore. Second, the production of petroleum refinery effluent is known to cause pollution due to its toxic effluent discharge. Sea habitats and onshore soil biota are affected by total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) as a pollutant in their natural environment. Crude oil pollution in seawater, estuaries and beaches requires an efficient process of cleaning. To remove crude oil pollutants from seawater, various physicochemical and biological treatment methods have been applied worldwide. A biological treatment method using bacteria, fungi and algae has recently gained a lot of attention due to its efficiency and lower cost. This review introduces various studies related to the bioremediation of crude oil, TPH and related petroleum products by bioaugmentation and biostimulation or both together. Bioremediation studies mentioned in this paper can be used for treatment such as emulsified residual spilled oil in seawater with floating oil spill containment booms as an enclosed basin such as a bioreactor, for petroleum hydrocarbons as a pollutant that will help environmental researchers solve these problems and completely clean-up oil spills in seawater.

Black Water Protection Bundle for First Responders and the Healthcare Environment

<h3>Background</h3> Black water flooding and other biological spills occur not too infrequently in the healthcare setting. Our first responders from engineering and environmental services teams often do not have immediate access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and other environmental supplies to prevent bodily exposures and contain the spread of contamination to the rest of the facility. <h3>Methods</h3> The Infection Prevention, Engineering, and Environmental Services Teams met to create a GRAB-AND-GO SPILL KIT BUNDLE. The team looked at existing resources at the Supply Chain Department that will meet PPE needs, namely: masks with eye protection, long nitrile gloves, long boot covers, waterproof and disposable coveralls, and tubs of bleach wipes. To contain the fluid spill, the following were purchased: three wet high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter vacuums, capable of trapping 99.7 percent of airborne particles larger than 0.3 microns when suctioning contaminated fluid, marine-grade fluid containment booms, and large absorbent pads. The last two replaced towels and linens for containing the spread of contaminated fluid. A cleanable rubber walk-off mat was added to serve as a neutral zone between the clean and contaminated areas of the flood or spill site. A list of supply inventory was included to the kit to establish maintenance par levels. <h3>Results</h3> Three units of the GRAB-AND-GO SPILL KIT were created to address the following: speedy and efficient response to the black water flooding or spills, protection of first responders from biological contamination and exposures, and containment of contaminated fluid and wastes from spreading to the rest of the facility. <h3>Conclusions</h3> First responders need immediate access to supplies to contain black water flooding and spills in the healthcare setting. This was achieved through a bundled approach, the handy GRAB-AND-GO KITS made it possible to protect both the first responders and the healthcare environment from biological exposures and contamination, respectively.

USV based automatic deployment of booms along quayside mooring ships: Scaled experiments and simulations

This article explores possible uses of marine Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) for the fully automatic deployment of containment booms along quayside mooring ships. The task of the USV is to tow the boom along adequate trajectories. The target is the prevention of contaminant spills in harbors or near the coast, for example during crude transfers. Surrounding ships with booms is becoming a common practice. This scenario belongs to the target of our research: to transfer robotic techniques to marine applications. The article experimentally shows that the USV based automatic deployment can be done, in accordance with a suitable planning in terms of waypoints. Actually, the article presents a successful automatic deployment, with a scale USV and a 50 m long experimental light boom. For the purposes of the research a set of models, of the boom, cables, and the USV dynamics, have been established. Based on these models, a simulation platform has been developed. The platform has been employed for analyzing and planning of experiments, and for the simulation of a real scale boom deployment scenario described in the article. Some recommendations are included in the final section.

Estimation of a Mechanical Recovery System’s Oil Recovery Capacity by Considering Boom Loss

Ability to estimate the recovery potential of countermeasures is vital in establishing a rational response solution for oil spills at sea. This requires estimation of how much oil can be recovered and the determination of the rational quantities and operating conditions of the response equipment. In this study, a constant loss rate model and a variable loss rate model were developed to estimate the recovery potential of a mechanical oil recovery system, while considering the escape of oil containment booms. The latter model could calculate the speed at which oil loss began to occur and the volume of oil lost. A case study was performed to analyze the significance of oil loss and to calculate changes in recovery potential with respect to adjustable vital variables. The developed model was able to estimate the best operating situation, which optimizes the recovery potential for different response times and environmental conditions.

Numerical Study of Containment of Spilled Medium-Viscosity Oil in Wave–Current Flow

AbstractOffshore oil spills can greatly harm marine ecological environments. The containment boom is a simple and effective tool that can effectively prevent the spread of oil spills, reduce the oi...

Orthogonal Investigation of Benzene Blocking Performance for the Hazardous Chemical Containment Boom

Along with the accelerating process of economy, the shipping throughout of hazardous chemicals has been increasing. Once the hazardous chemical leakage happens, it will cause serious damage to water and marine life around the accident spot. The containment boom is usually used for chemical blocking or diverting. There are several factors which affect the performance of the containment boom such as the water flow velocity, the wind velocity, the wave and so on. In this paper, the performance of the containment boom for hazardous chemical blocking was investigated via a software package Flow-3D. An orthogonal experiment was designed to find out how the factors affect the performance of the containment boom. The simulation results reveal that the water flow velocity plays a dominant part in the boom blocking performance.

Modelling and assessment of accidental oil release from damaged subsea pipelines

This paper develops a 3D, transient, mathematical model to estimate the oil release rate and simulate the oil dispersion behavior. The Euler-Euler method is used to estimate the subsea oil release rate, while the Eulerian-Lagrangian method is employed to track the migration trajectory of oil droplets. This model accounts for the quantitative effect of backpressure and hole size on oil release rate, and the influence of oil release rate, oil density, current speed, water depth and leakage position on oil migration is also investigated in this paper. Eventually, the results, e.g. transient release rate of oil, the rise time of oil and dispersion distance are determined by above-mentioned model, and the oil release and dispersion behavior under different scenarios is revealed. Essentially, the assessment results could provide a useful guidance for detection of leakage positon and placement of oil containment boom.

Numerical modeling of floating oil boom motions in wave-current coupling conditions

Containment booms are commonly used in collecting and containing spilled oil on the sea surface and in protecting specific sea areas against oil slick spreading. In the present study, a numerical model is proposed based on the N-S equations in a mesh frame. The proposed model tracks the outline of the floating boom in motion by using the fractional area/volume obstacle representation technique. The boom motion is then simulated by the technique of general moving object. The simulated results of the rigid oil boom motions are validated against the experimental results. Then, the failure mechanism of the boom is investigated through numerical experiments. Based on the numerical results, the effects of boom parameters and dynamic factors on the oil containment performance are also assessed.

Numerical modelling and full-scale exercise of oil-spill containment boom on Galician coast

Numerical modelling and full-scale exercise of oil-spill containment boom on Galician coast

Experimental and numerical investigations on reliability of air barrier on oil containment in flowing water

Air barriers have been recently developed and employed as a new type of oil containment boom. This paper presents systematic investigations on the reliability of air barriers on oil containments with the involvement of flowing water, which represents the commonly-seen shearing current in reality, by using both laboratory experiments and numerical simulations. Both the numerical and experimental investigations are carried out in a model scale. In the investigations, a submerged pipe with apertures is installed near the bottom of a tank to generate the air bubbles forming the air curtain; and, the shearing water flow is introduced by a narrow inlet near the mean free surface. The effects of the aperture configurations (including the size and the spacing of the aperture) and the location of the pipe on the effectiveness of the air barrier on preventing oil spreading are discussed in details with consideration of different air discharges and velocities of the flowing water. The research outcome provides a foundation for evaluating and/or improve the reliability of a air barrier on preventing spilled oil from further spreading.

One-step fabrication of a nickel foam-based superhydrophobic and superoleophilic box for continuous oil–water separation

Developing novel oil–water separation material, especially with uncomplicated fabrication and easily continuous separation procedure, is of great significance for environmental protection, but it is still a worldwide challenge. In this study, we present a simple one-step copolymerization method for fabrication organics coated three-dimensional material based on commercial nickel foam with dopamine and octadecylamine. The as-prepared nickel foam shows high superhydrophobicity with water contact angle (CA) of 154° ± 2°, water shedding angle of 4° ± 1° and superoleophilicity with oil CA of almost 0°. The as-prepared foam can fast and selectively remove oil from water due to its special wettability and porous structure. Besides, the foam can be manipulated to realize oil–water separation with a magnet bar due to its intrinsic magnetism. More interestingly, because of it being lightweight, and softness and toughness performance, the as-prepared foam can continuously remove and collect oil from water surface by folding it to a closed hollow box, which integrates the functions of oil containment boom, oil-absorption material and oil skimmer into one device. We believe that this research can provide a nice idea to design new material and device for practical oil–water separation.

Combining Best Available Technology: A Systems Approach for Effective Mechanical Oil Spill Response

The toolbox of oil spill response resources now available includes alternative options for organizing, managing, and conducting a response. Best Available Technology (BAT) for Tracking &amp; Surveillance provides an enhanced capability to direct on-water assets when over-flight information may be unavailable. Containment booming systems have the ability to be towed beyond traditional containment boom towing speeds, increasing oil encounter rates. Advances in skimming technology have led to higher oil recovery rates and higher skimmer efficiency rates, and therefore help reduce on-water storage requirements. The ability to combine this BAT into a single recovery system provides for timely and effective on-water response. Using BAT systems allows Operations Section Chiefs to organize a response into geographically defined divisions as opposed to traditional on-water groups with Task Force Leaders (TFLs) making autonomous, in-field decisions. This is an important enhancement in oil spill response. When conditions preclude over-flights for oil trajectory information, new surveillance BAT may still provide TFLs with information to assist in continuing efficient operations. With oil spill response vessels (OSRVs) with high skimming and storage capabilities operating at the source of the spill, TFLs can direct BAT recovery systems into heavily impacted areas away from the source. Each system can consist of: one TF leader vessel with BAT tracking and surveillance assets and an assigned Area of Responsibility (AOR); two advanced containment booming systems with assigned vessels; and [any number of?] highly efficient skimmers. Combining these response assets with adequate on-water storage of recovered liquids, the TF leader is better able to direct each recovery system into the thickest parts of the oil to maximize on-water encounter and recovery rates.