Hydrocarbon Pool Fires Research Articles

Fluorine-Free Extinguishing of a Hydrocarbon Pool Fire with a Suspension of Glass Bubbles Grafted with Nanoscale Polymer Layers.

The current most efficient solution to extinguish liquid hydrocarbon (class B) pool fires involves fire-fighting foams containing fluorinated surfactants. However, fluorocarbon surfactants are unsafe due to their environmental persistence and negative toxicological/bioaccumulative impact. To this end, we show that fluorine-free aqueous suspensions of Glass Bubbles (GB) modified with hydrophilic polymer grafted layers can efficiently extinguish hydrocarbon pool fires. Namely, GB grafted with poly(oligo (ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate) (POEGMA), GB-G was fabricated employing "grafting-through" and "grafting-from" methods and used to obtain the suspensions. It was found that the GB suspension, with a grafted layer of higher molecular weight and lower grafting density (GB-GL), proved superior to the more densely grafted GB-GH and nongrafted GB-0 system. The GB-GL suspensions displayed less negative spreading coefficients and viscosities lower than those of GB-GH/GB-0 compositions. When siloxane-polyoxyethylene surfactant was added to all GB suspensions, the interfacial properties were dominated by the surfactant, with all suspensions having the same positive spreading coefficient. However, the GB-GL-surfactant composition had the lowest viscosity among the suspensions studied in this work. Specifically, the viscosity of GB-GH and GB-0 suspensions at a shear rate of 77 s-1 was ∼110% and 70% higher than that of GB-GL. Due to the lower viscosity, the GB-GL suspension demonstrated the most efficient spreading over model hydrocarbon solid (polyethylene) and liquid (hexadecane) surfaces when the surfactant was added. The suspension also showed the best performance in the retardation of hexane evaporation when placed over the heated hexane pool. After 50 min, the amount of hexane that evaporated through GB-GH and GB-0 suspensions was ∼8 and 11 times higher, respectively, compared to the GB-GL suspension. We found that the GB-GL-surfactant system was the most efficient GB suspension in extinguishing the fire due to its superior spreading and sealing ability. It was within 10% of fluorine-containing foam's fire extinguishment performance. The GB suspensions are much safer in terms of burnback resistance as a torch applied directly to the suspension after extinguishment could not reignite the fire. The GB material is recyclable, since it can be collected and reused after application to a fire.

An experimental study on burning rates of dual tandem hydrocarbon pool fires of various separation distances subjected to crossflow

The intention of this experimental work is to investigate the burning rates of two tandem-placed free-burning square pool fires (15 cm), separated by different separation distances (S/D = 1∼6) under the action of crossflow (0∼6.0 m/s). Two representative hydrocarbon liquid fuels with various sootiness, n-heptane and ethanol, were employed. A total of 204 conditions were considered comprehensively. Results showed that the burning rates of the leading pool fire (LPF) and the following pool fire (FPF) were found to be markedly different from that of the wind-blown single pool fire (SPF) and were attributable to the change of heat feedback mechanisms. The combined effects of the constraint air entrainment and external radiation from the FPF are conducive to the change of the LPF burning rates when tandem pool fires merge. The increment of LPF burning rate compared with SPF burning rate of n-heptane pool fires at a fixed crossflow velocity was deduced to be a function of the external radiation from the FPF when air entrainment is sufficient at a relatively larger separation distance (i.e., non-merging cases). Apart from the external heat transfer to fuel surface and the air entrainment restriction, the sheltering effect of the leading fire on the effective crossflow velocity also dramatically influences the FPF burning rates. The ratio of FPF burning rate to that of a SPF in crossflow, was observed to fall into three phases in terms of a defined Fr⁎ for various separation distances and crossflow velocities, of which phase I with a rising branch, phase II with a falling branch and phase III reached a plateau. Finally, a stagnant film model was employed to correlate well the burning rates of convection-dominated SPF, LPF and FPF under crossflow, while the modified effective crossflow velocity was applied to the FPF. These results provide a basis for better understanding the underlying physics of multiple fires mass burning fluxes caused by complex flame-flow interactions.

A comparative study of ultrafine water mist extinguishing hydrocarbon pool fires with or without potassium salts

A comparative study of ultrafine water mist extinguishing hydrocarbon pool fires with or without potassium salts

Experimental study on the flame height evolution of two adjacent hydrocarbon pool fires under transverse air flow

Hydrocarbon energy storage has a wide range of applications in modern production and life. Regarded as an important form of energy dissipation, combustion plays an important role in energy storage failure. The possible ignition of adjacent leaked fuel might induce multiple fires burning simultaneous. The present work experimentally characterizes the flame evolution of two adjacent pool fires with square and line burners under transverse air flow. As for the effect of transverse air flow, the flame height evolution was recorded and measured involving six different transverse air flow speeds, as the transverse air flow speed increased up to 3 m/s, the flame height gradually decreased. When the transverse air flow increased from 3 to 3.7 m/s, the flame height only changed slightly on both types of burners. A new correlation was proposed that which correlates well the flame height as a function of the ratio of air entrainment caused by transverse air flow to that induced by the flame buoyancy itself in quiescent condition, including the fuel of heptane and ethanol, and the Froude number representing flame tilting caused by transverse air flow. The experimental data and proposed correlations in the present study provide an essential base for quantifying two adjacent pool fires characteristics under transverse air flow.

Concurrent 19. Presentation for: Developing an in-depth understanding of PFAS to deliver an effective remediation strategy

Presented on Wednesday 18 May: Session 19 Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd and BHP Petroleum (Bass Strait) Pty Ltd own a range of offshore and onshore hydrocarbon production facilities, which have been operated by Esso Australia Pty Ltd (Esso) for over 50 years. The Longford Fire Training Ground (FTG) is located adjacent to the Longford Plants and has been utilised by Esso for many years to train personnel in practical hydrocarbon firefighting skills, including applying firefighting foams to extinguish liquid hydrocarbon pool fires. In line with historical standard oil-field practices, per and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) containing firefighting foams were used at the Longford FTG. In response to the reported use of these foams and the potential for contamination associated with historical site operations, the Longford premises were the subject of recent environmental audit and clean-up plans with oversight by an EPA Victoria auditor. Esso engaged a broad range of experts to complete the environmental investigation and develop a remediation action plan that complied with the PFAS National Environmental Management Plan. Key aspects of this project included: understanding the location and setting, with respect to geological conditions and groundwater impacts; development of remediation objectives and strategy; identification of practical remediation methods including short-term and longer-term measures to mitigate priority PFAS sources within the FTG; and a planning framework for future management of the premises. This paper shares how a responsible operator applies a disciplined and scientifically based environmental approach to further the state of knowledge on practical PFAS remediation methods and achieve a sustainable environmental outcome in the communities that they operate in. To access the presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here

Developing an in-depth understanding of PFAS to deliver an effective remediation strategy

Esso Australia Resources Pty Ltd and BHP Petroleum (Bass Strait) Pty Ltd own a range of offshore and onshore hydrocarbon production facilities, which have been operated by Esso Australia Pty Ltd (Esso) for over 50 years. The Longford Fire Training Ground (FTG) is located adjacent to the Longford Plants and has been utilised by Esso for many years to train personnel in practical hydrocarbon firefighting skills, including applying firefighting foams to extinguish liquid hydrocarbon pool fires. In line with historical standard oil-field practices, per and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) containing firefighting foams were used at the Longford FTG. In response to the reported use of these foams and the potential for contamination associated with historical site operations, the Longford premises were the subject of recent environmental audit and clean-up plans with oversight by an EPA Victoria auditor. Esso engaged a broad range of experts to complete the environmental investigation and develop a remediation action plan that complied with the PFAS National Environmental Management Plan. Key aspects of this project included: understanding the location and setting, with respect to geological conditions and groundwater impacts; development of remediation objectives and strategy; identification of practical remediation methods including short-term and longer-term measures to mitigate priority PFAS sources within the FTG; and a planning framework for future management of the premises. This paper shares how a responsible operator applies a disciplined and scientifically based environmental approach to further the state of knowledge on practical PFAS remediation methods and achieve a sustainable environmental outcome in the communities that they operate in.

DESIGN FIRE CURVE SELECTION OF SMALL SCALE POOL FIRES IN A SCALED METRO STATION

n-heptane pool fire was numerically and experimentally investigated in a 1:100 scaled metro station. Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS v6.7.5) has been applied to investigate smoke and temperature distribution by implementing different design curves in the station. Experimental and numerical studies were performed for 10 ml n-heptane fuel under zero piston effect. To develop performance-based design and to obtain reliable fire simulation results for structures, reasonable input conditions are essential for numerical studies. The aim of the study is to select most suitable fire design curve and make the numerical study independent of the experimental results for small scale hydrocarbon pool fires. In this study, t2, tanh, Eurocode 1 (BS EN 1991-1-2), exponential, and quadratic fire curves were investigated and validated with experimental results. The numerical results obtained using FDS were validated with experimental data and good agreement was observed for all design fire curves except quadratic one. It was observed that the exponential design fire curve predicted more similarly to the experimental data over the fire duration including growth, fully developed and decay phases. Regardless of the experimental results, it was seen that the temperature distribution results obtained from the numerical study using exponential fire design curve and the radiation / turbulence parameters obtained from the literature were found to have an average of 5% difference with the experimental results. It was also seen that the t2 and tanh curves have acceptable differences of 6.92% and 9.02%, respectively, and the Eurocode HC is less suitable than the other curves with a difference of 12.17%. Therefore, it can be said that in small scale hydrocarbon pool fires, fire design can be done using exponential design curve.

Development of fire model source terms and effects in the Hazard Prediction and Assessment Capability (HPAC) atmospheric transport and dispersion code

This paper describes a model which has been developed to represent the input of the products of combustion of large fires into the atmosphere, for subsequent calculation of the transport and dispersion by atmospheric processes. The objective was to have a model suitable for rapid implementation to support the needs of emergency responders. Consequently, the model characterizes the sources by a small number of parameters, which then define the rest of the model in terms of quantity and rate of release of products of combustion. There are two fundamental situations modeled – a hydrocarbon pool fire, and a building fire. The hydrocarbon pool fire is characterized by the area and mass, while the various forms of building fires are reduced to two: wooden buildings and steel-framed buildings, with further discrimination being made by area and duration of the fire. The building fires are assumed to be driven primarily by cellulosic materials, with the amount of such material being normalized to the floor area with parameters taken from the literature. A certain number of toxic contaminants, with levels as suggested by the firefighting literature, are provided in these models. The analyst can amend these levels, or ignore them, as desired. The models developed have been incorporated into the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Hazard Prediction and Capability (HPAC) code. This code breaks down the hazard prediction process into three components: 1) Generation of a source term describing the introduction of the contaminant to the atmosphere; 2) Transport, dispersion, and deposition of the contaminants by atmospheric processes, and; 3) Computation of the effects of the contaminant, usually at the surface. Source term generation modules includes such things as biological and nuclear warfare, and toxic industrial chemicals (TIC). The present work adds a fire module to the mix. • Fires are parameterized to minimize required inputs. • The model is sufficiently flexible that almost any contaminant can be added. • The building fire model is oriented to combustion of the whole building, rather than the contents of the building. • Atmospheric structural variability effects on transport are accounted for. • Doppler weather radar data from a real-world fire is consistent with this model.

Experimental study on burning rates of large-scale hydrocarbon pool fires under controlled wind conditions

Open square fuel pools with areas of 50 m2, 100 m2, 200 m2, 380 m2, and 400 m2 were used to burn RP-5 aviation fuel and diesel oil, under a well-controlled and regulated horizontal wind field with speeds ranging from 0 to 17 m/s by a large-scale open jet wind tunnel. The mean mass burning rate of the fuel in the quasi-steady period was taken as the representative value. Under the calm condition, the burning rates of the two fuels were proportional to the ratios of the ideal heat of combustion to the effective heat of gasification. The burning rates of different size pool fires were little affected by various wind conditions. With the increase of wind speed, all pool fires exhibited a common pattern in the burning rate, a steady growth followed by a level-off constant value. The traditional Froude number (Fr) was unable to predict the behavior of large-scale pool fires under various wind speeds. A modified Froude number (Fr* = Fr·Re0.2) was developed based on the heat transfer correlation for turbulent mixed convection on a horizontal flat plate and successfully correlated a total of nine different large-scale pool fire experimental data under wind conditions.

Experimental study on flame merging probability and pulsation frequency of annular hydrocarbon pool fires with various inner and outer diameters

Hydrocarbon pool fires can cause serious fire accidents. This study focused on the flame-merging behavior and pulsation frequency of annular hydrocarbon pool fires with various inner and outer diameters. Experiments were performed with annular pool fires having outer diameters (D) in the range of 0.15–0.55 m and inner diameters (d) in the range of 0.05–0.45 m. The fuel used was n-heptane. The flame-merging probability and pulsation frequency of annular pool fires with various inner and outer diameters were examined. With the development of the pool fire, the initially produced “annular flame” finally merged. According to the dimensional analysis, a fitted correlation of the piece function with different heat-release rates and annular-pool sizes was proposed for describing the flame merging and pulsation frequency, and the proposed correlation in this work is suitable for no wind conditions.

Improvement in the prediction of gasoline pool fire behaviour: CFD modelling and validation

The development and implementation of mathematical models through Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques has been acknowledged as a promising tool for the prediction of hydrocarbon pool fires behaviours. In this sense, different approaches, with different assumptions and simplifications, and accounting for different phenomena, have been developed in the literature. However, the deviations in the predictions of the experimentally determined parameters, such as temperatures profiles, flame heights and radiative heat flux, by the implemented models are still high. Therefore, the implementation of these models to predict combustion phenomena and flame behaviours for various scenarios is limited. In this work, the software C3D is used to model gasoline pool fires of different diameters, and under different wind conditions, in order to improve the quality of the predictions of the flame behaviour. The modelled cases correspond to the experimental studies reported in literature. The results from the implemented model show an improved predictive quality when compared with other modelling works reported on literature for the same experimental cases. The deviations in the time averaged temperature, flame height, surface emissive power and radiative heat flux, has been calculated to be 5.0%, 0.05%, 6.32% and 3.82%, respectively.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study of heat radiation from large liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) pool fires

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is flammable and has risks of pool fires during its transportation, storage, and applications. The heat radiation by LPG pool fires poses hazards to individuals nearby and can lead to potential failures of ambient facilities. Due to the high costs and invasive nature of experiments for investigating large-scale pool fires, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is employed in this study as the cost-effective and noninvasive method to simulate the process and analyze the characteristics of large hydrocarbon pool fires. Specifically, an experimentally validated 3-D CFD model has been built to simulate surface emissive power (SEP) and incident radiation of large-scale LPG pool fires with three different diameters and wind speeds. Steady-state simulations with P1 radiation and probability density function (PDF) combustion models were employed to obtain reliable data after the optimizations based on the comparisons with experimental data and empirical models. The comparison with benchmark experimental data demonstrates that the CFD model employed in this study can accurately predict the incident radiation of large LPG pool fires. A new SEP correlation is also proposed, which is specifically for LPG pool fires with a diameter between 10 m and 20 m. Additionally, the safe separation distances between LPG facilities and surrounded objects have been estimated based on the CFD simulation results. The high-resolution CFD model for large LPG pool fires in this work provides noninvasive and direct quantitative evidence to enhance the fundamental understanding on the safety of large LPG pool fires and can assist regulatory agencies in refining the safety limits in the cost-effective and time-saving manners.

An experimental investigation on mass burning rate of small hydrocarbon pool fires with different lip heights

ABSTRACTA series of experiments has been conducted to investigate the mass burning rate of hydrocarbon pool fires with different lip heights, where the pool size is designed to be in the convection-dominant regime under a quiescent condition. The pool sizes of 5, 6, 7, and 8 cm are considered, while the lip heights are 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.5, and 3.0 cm. The heat feedback from flame body to fuel surface has also been discussed, given different lip heights. It was found that the heat conduction feedback to the fuel increased with the non-dimensional lip height in the convection-dominant regime. In addition, heat convection decreased with the increase in the non-dimensional lip height.

Comparison of fire resistance of damaged fireproofed steel beams under hydrocarbon pool fire and ASTM E119 fire exposure

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate different types of fire on structural steel members with damaged fireproofing. Two types of fire scenarios are considered, ASTM E119 fire and Hydrocarbon fire. In industrial facilities such as oil refineries, certain units maybe subjected to hydrocarbon fire, and its effect might be different than standard fire. The purpose of this study is to compare both types of fire scenarios on steel beams with damaged fireproofing and determine the fire rating of the damaged beams under each fire scenario.Design/methodology/approachThe study is performed using computational methods, thermal-stress finite element analysis that is validated with experimental results. The results of practical beam sizes and typical applied loads in such structures have been plotted and compared with steel beams with non-damaged fireproofing.FindingsThe results show significant difference in the beam fire resistance between the two fire scenarios and show the fire resistance for beam under each case. The study provides percentage reduction in fire resistance under each case for the most commonly used cases in practice under different load conditions.Originality/valueExtensive literature search has been performed by the authors, and few studies were found relevant to the topic. The question this study answers comes up regularly in practice. There are no standards to codes that address this issue.

Calculation of radiation transmittance through n-heptane in a pool fire

The radiative transfer mechanisms in a volatile hydrocarbon pool fire were investigated by solving the transmittance of infrared radiation through fuel (n-heptane) layers of different depths. The incoming radiation was assumed to have the same relative amounts of different wavelengths as a spectrum obtained experimentally for a 2 meter pool fire, and the transmittances were calculated by integrating either the single-ray Lambert-Beer formula, the two-flux (Schuster-Schwarzschild) method solution or the analytical plane-parallel monochromatic/gray solution of the radiative transfer equation over wavelength, using the liquid absorption coefficients from several sources. The obtained transmittances were compared to earlier heat flux measurements, and the possibility of calculating them with significantly less computation time by using a k-distribution method was investigated. The results managed to replicate the measured heat flux values at depths over 1 mm in the liquid with reasonable accuracy, and the use of the k-distribution, more known and used in gas phase thermal radiation calculations, significantly speeds up the calculations.

A Model Considering the Flame Volume for Prediction of Thermal Radiation from Pool Fire

Thermal radiation is an important parameter to evaluate the hazard of pool fires. In the conventional solid flame model for the radiant heat flux calculation, the burning flame is often assumed to be of a cylinder or a cylinder–cone combined shape whose height and diameter equal the flame height and pool diameter, respectively. Obviously, the conventional model does not take into account the actual flame volume. Thus, this paper presents a revised solid flame model by correcting the flame diameter with the flame height and flame volume. The heat release rate per unit flame volume is approximately 1100 kW/m3 for hydrocarbon pool fires, by which the flame volume can be calculated with the known heat release rate. By theoretical analysis on experimental data in literature, correlations of centerline temperature and flame emissivity are proposed to calculate the flame surface emissive power of heptane pool fires. The obstruction effect of smoke around the burning flame on the thermal radiation is also considered by correcting the transmissivity of thermal radiation in the surrounding medium. Comparisons in prediction between the new and conventional models are conducted against the experimental measurements of 0.3 m, 0.5 m, 0.7 m, 1 m, 6 m heptane pool fires. It is found that the new model with the cylinder–cone combined shape assumption can better predict the thermal radiation from heptane pool fires in both near and far fields.

Spectrally resolved calculation of thermal radiation penetration into liquid n-heptane in pool fires

The radiative heat transfer in a volatile hydrocarbon pool fire was investigated by obtaining the transmittance of infrared radiation through fuel (n-heptane) layers of different depths. The incident radiation spectrum was assumed to be either the same as a spectrum obtained experimentally for a 2 meter pool fire, or to be a Planck distribution corresponding to the approximate flame temperature. The transmittances were calculated by integrating either the single-ray Lambert–Beer formula, the two-flux method or the analytical plane-parallel monochromatic/gray solution of the radiative transfer equation over wavelength, using the liquid spectral absorption coefficients found in literature. The obtained results are validated against earlier measurements, and the possibility of calculating them with significantly less computation time by using a k-distribution method was investigated. The results managed to replicate the measured heat flux values in the liquid with a fractional error of only about 5% being attainable even with a 3-point quadrature method. The use of the k-distribution, more known and used in gas phase thermal radiation calculations, significantly speeds up the calculations. It was found out that in the calculation of total transmitted fractions of radiation, the flame spectrum can be approximated with a Planck distribution of an appropriate temperature.

A priori validation of CFD modelling of hydrocarbon pool fires

Fires can be an important hazard for the safety of chemical and process industries. Particularly, pool fires are the most frequent fire scenarios in such facilities and can affect other equipment of the plant with severe consequences due to the domino effect. During the last decades, simplified fire modelling tools were used to predict some of the harmful effects that hydrocarbon pool fires may entail. Although these can be applied to limited number of scenarios, they cannot cover the overall characteristics governing the fire behaviour. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling can provide more detailed insights of the related fire effects, can consider complex geometries and can represent from small to large scale fires. However, simulation results should be firstly compared to experimental measurements in order to assess the predictive capabilities of these tools.This paper investigates the predictive capabilities of CFD modelling when performing a priori simulations of medium and large scale hydrocarbon pool fires. The main objective is to assess the fire effects prediction performance of two CFD codes that may be used to evaluate the hazard of hydrocarbon pool fires. FLACS-Fire and FDS codes have been used to simulate medium and large scale pool fires (1.5, 3, 4, 5 and 6 m-diameter) of diesel and gasoline fuels in unconfined environments. Given the notable differences between the mathematical methods applied to solve the CFD sub-models, the mesh resolution and the boundary conditions in each investigated tool, this study is not aimed at directly comparing both codes (i.e. using identical sub-models choices). However, the present CFD analysis is intended to reveal the potential of each software separately by applying the most appropriate modelling options for each tool. Based on a qualitative assessment of the predictions and a quantitative error estimation of the variables measured (i.e. flame temperature, burning rate, heat flux, flame height, flame surface, and surface emissive power), the main strengths and weaknesses of FLACS-Fire and FDS are identified when modelling hydrocarbon pool fires.

Extinguishment of hydrocarbon pool fires by ultrafine water mist with ammonium/amidogen compound in an improved cup burner

SummaryUltrafine water mist (UFWM) (<10 μm), as a total flooding agent, has been proven to overcome obstructions in extinguishing fire. To examine the efficacy of UFWM extinguishing pool fires and reveal the primary fire extinguishing mechanisms of heat adsorption, a predictive model of minimum extinguishing concentration (MEC) is developed based on heat extraction, and the experimental data of MECs were obtained with an improved cup burner. The contribution of heat adsorption is about 25% to 50%, and turbulence effect also plays an important role in extinguishing fire. To improve fire inhibition effectiveness of UFWM by turbulence effect, CO (NH2)2, NH4HCO3, and (NH4)2HPO4 were selected as additives; KCl and KH2PO4 were also chosen for comparison purpose. It is discovered that CO (NH2)2 and (NH4)2HPO4 in the low concentrations can improve the fire extinction effectiveness except NH4HCO3. CO (NH2)2 has the most contribution to fire extinction at the optimum concentration (about 0.01 mol L−1 for n‐heptane fire and 0.03 mol L−1 for ethanol fire). Moreover, CO (NH2)2 (at 0.03 mol L−1) was dramatically better than KH2PO4 in extinguishing ethanol fire, and its effect is very close to that of KCl (at 0.067 mol L−1) for ethanol fire.

Use of immersed conductive objects to enhance the burning rate of hydrocarbon pool fires

This study investigates the ability of thermally conductive nonflammable objects to enhance the steady state burning rate of hydrocarbon pool fires with the ultimate goal of designing a burner for faster clean-up of hazardous spills in offshore and other remote environments. In the initial set of small-scale experiments, a vertical 1cm diameter solid aluminum cylinder with varying lengths is placed centrally in a 10cm diameter pan fed with a continuous supply of hexane burning in quasi-steady state. The upper part of the cylinder, engulfed in the flame, heats up, and conducts heat to the lower submersed part, that transmits heat to the liquid below the pool surface. Tests reveal that the submersed lower part of the cylinder heats up sufficiently to sustain nucleate boiling, significantly increasing the burning rate, when compared to the baseline pool fire, where vaporization is achieved solely by radiative and convective heat transfer at the pool surface. The effects of cylinder length and multiple cylinders on burning rate are also characterized. To determine if the concept can also be applied to oil spill clean-up, a set of large scale tests is performed by burning crude oil/water mixtures in a 1-meter diameter pool. These tests show that burners with thermally conductive cylinders can be designed to effectively dispose of crude oil and oil/water mixtures.