Ian Buist

LABORATORY STUDIES OF THE PROPERTIES OF IN-SITU BURN RESIDUES

ABSTRACT This study investigated the physical and chemical properties of the residue from in-situ burns of thick oil slicks. It involved burning small-diameter slicks of oil on water and analyzing the properties of the residues. The objective of the work was to identify the burn conditions that might produce residues that sink. Eight oils were selected for the project: (1) Alaska North Slope crude; (2) Alberta Sweet Mixed Blend crude; (3) Arabian Heavy crude; (4) Arabian Light crude; (5) Bonny Light crude; (6) Iranian Heavy crude; (7) Mayan crude; and (8) automotive diesel. Burn tests were conducted on all eight oils when fresh and on two of the oils when weathered. Experiments involved burning slicks of three thicknesses (5, 10, and 15 cm) on saltwater at room temperature (15°C). Residue density, water content, pour point, and viscosity were measured. Samples of parent oils and burn residues were fractionated into three boiling point ranges, and each was analyzed to quantify total saturates, aromatics, r...

HERDING AGENTS THICKEN OIL SPILLS IN DRIFT ICE TO FACILITATE IN SITU BURNING: A NEW TRICK FOR AN OLD DOG1

ABSTRACT In situ burning is an oil spill response option particularly suited to remote ice-covered waters. The key to effective in situ burning is thick oil slicks. In loose drift ice conditions oi...

Results of Laboratory Tests on the Potential for Using In Situ Burning on 17 Crude Oils

ABSTRACT Over the past 5 years, S.L. Ross Environmental Research has analyzed 17 crude oils with a suite of laboratory tests and controlled burns to determine, for each oil, the likelihood of successfully using in situ burning as a response tool. These studies provided valuable spill response information by indicating which of the oils would respond well to in situ burning and which would not. When the results of the separate tests were grouped together, trends in suitability were noted. In particular, API gravity was shown to be a reasonably good predictor of success with in situ burning for heavy and light oils (below 21° and above 38°, respectively); however, success with oils of intermediate API gravities was varied, and further testing of these oils is warranted.

Using Herders for Rapid In Situ Burning Of Oil Spills on Open Water

ABSTRACT Since 2004, the main goal of R&D on herding agents (also called oil collecting agents) has been to determine their ability to enhance in situ burning of oil in ice concentrations too low for natural containment of the oil slick by the ice itself (i.e., ice concentrations between <10 and 60%). Unexpectedly, the results also indicate that the concept of in situ burning enhanced by herders has the potential of being extended to open water conditions. Herders were studied in the 1970s as an open water oil spill response technique but the goal was to provide containment for mechanical recovery. In this application herders were limited to relatively calm conditions because the herder itself dissipated quickly in higher seas allowing the slick to respread. This dissipation occurred over periods of tens of minutes: not enough time to allow skimming of the herded slick. In situ burning is a process that requires only minutes to implement using minimum logistics and equipment. Thus, the potential exists th...

ONE-STEP OFFSHORE OIL SKIM AND BURN SYSTEM FOR USE WITH VESSELS OF OPPORTUNITY

ABSTRACT Vessels of opportunity (VoOs), such as fish and shrimp boats, can be employed to aide offshore oil spill response operations. During the 2010 Macondo response, VoOs were utilized to collec...

Update on Developing and Commercializing Oil Herders for In-Situ Burning

ABSTRACT Since the 2011 Conference (Buist et al. 2011 and Buist and Nedwed 2011), work on advancing oil herding agents for in-situ burning (ISB) has focused on three areas: Obtaining regulatory app...

Herding Agents to Thicken Oil Spills in Drift Ice for In Situ Burning: New Developments

ABSTRACT In situ burning is an oil spill response option particularly suited to remote ice-covered waters. The key to effective in situ burning is thick oil slicks. In drift ice conditions (< 7/10t...

Wave Tank and Swirling Flask Dispersant Effectiveness Testing on Fresh Mississippi Canyon 252 Oil

Nine dispersants were tested at the high energy setting (Figure 2). Five dispersants that performed well at high energy were then tested at the low energy setting (Figure 3).Each test case was completed in triplicate. Four of the dispersants tested did not perform any better than the control tests (see Figure 2). Three dispersants (Corexit 9500a, Corexit 9527a and Finasol OSR 52) clearly performed better than all of the others. These dispersants generated smaller oil-drop sized dispersions in the form of classic cafe-au-lait clouds. The Dispersit SPC 1000 and JD-2000 dispersants also worked well at the high-energy setting but neither of these dispersants generated small drop sized cafe-au-lait clouds of dispersed oil. High Energy SL Ross Wave Tank Test Results

Dispersant Testing at Ohmsett: Feasibility Study and Preliminary Testing

ABSTRACT The Minerals Management Service (MMS), U.S. Department of the Interior, operates a wave tank facility in Leonardo, New Jersey known as OHMSETT (Oil and Hazardous Material Simulated Environmental Test Tank), which is used primarily for testing oil spill booms and skimmers. This paper summarizes two studies undertaken to examine the feasibility of testing dispersants at the facility as well. The first study included: (1) interfacial tension laboratory tests, (2) turbidity tests, (3) laboratory tests to evaluate filtering materials for removing dispersant and chemically dispersed oil, and (4) full-scale evaluation testing at OHMSETT. The results indicated that dispersant testing at OHMSETT could be done with good success if the testing program were carefully designed and implemented. It was determined that a number of dispersant tests could be conducted over several days, after which the tank water would have to thoroughly cleaned to remove dispersed oil (with a cellulose-based filter) and dispersan...

Operational Parameters for In Situ Burning of Six U.S. Outer Continental Shelf Crude Oils

ABSTRACT A laboratory test program was conducted with six crude oils to determine the following parameters with respect to in situ burning: The limits to ignition using gelled-gasoline igniters imp...