scholarly journals Characterizing Dispersion Effectiveness at Varying Salinities

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robyn N. Conmy ◽  
Devi Sundaravadivelu ◽  
Blake A. Schaeffer ◽  
Brian Robinson ◽  
Tom King ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salt Content ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Chemical Dispersant ◽  
Particle Size Analyzer ◽  
Ocean Salinity ◽  
Comprehensive Picture ◽  
Brine Pools ◽  
Alaskan North Slope ◽  
Natural Brine ◽  
Oil Droplet Size

ABSTRACT Chemical dispersant formulations typically provide maximum oil dispersion in waters between 30–40 ppt (parts per thousand) salt content, which encompasses typical ocean salinity (~34 ppt). As a result, most laboratory studies of oil dispersion effectiveness (DE) are conducted at low to average ocean salinity. Ocean salinity can vary locally from below 20 ppt during ice and snow melt, to extremely high (over 100 ppt) during freeze up periods or within natural brine pools in deeper waters. In this study, the influence of salinity on DE was evaluated using the baffled flask test (BFT) at a dispersant-to-oil ratio (DOR) of 1:25. Benchtop experiments were conducted with Alaskan North Slope (ANS) crude oil in the presence or absence of chemical dispersant at 5 and 25°C and varying salinities (0.2 to 125 ppt). In addition to DE as determined by BFT, oil droplet size distribution (DSD) and fluorescence intensity was measured via a LISST-100X particle size analyzer (Sequoia Scientific, Inc., Bellevue, WA) and ECO fluorometer (Sea Bird - WET Labs, Inc.; Philomath, OR), respectively. Results indicate that in the presence of dispersant, maximum DE occurred at 25ppt, and decreases above and below this salinity. Concentration of small droplets (<10 μm) was twice as high at 35ppt than at the other salinities in the presence of dispersant at 25°C. Treatments without dispersant did not vary significantly as a function of salinity. Flume tank experiments over a range of salinities support the lab scale results of DSD. These results provide a more comprehensive picture pertaining to the influence of salinity on dispersant usage at high salinities.

Experimental Study of Oil-Gas Cyclone Separator Performance in Oil-Injection Compressor System

2011 ◽  
Vol 383-390 ◽  
pp. 6436-6442
Author(s):  
Xin Yang ◽  
Jian Mei Feng ◽  
Yun Feng Chang ◽  
Xue Yuan Peng
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Separation Efficiency ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Separation Performance ◽  
Cyclone Separator ◽  
Particle Size Analyzer ◽  
Oil Concentration ◽  
Oil Injection ◽  
Oil Gas ◽  
Oil Droplet Size

Experimental study of the separation efficiency of oil-gas cyclone separator for oil-injection compressor system was conducted with the aim of understanding the separation process and identifying the main parameters affecting the separation efficiency. Malvern Particle Size analyzer was applied to analyze the separators’ performance. By simultaneously measuring the oil droplet size distribution and oil concentration upstream and downstream of the separators, the separation performance was assessed. The results of the study contribute to an optimized cyclone separator design.

Internal salt content: a useful framework for understanding the oceanic branch of the water cycle

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Bladwell ◽  
Ryan M. Holmes ◽  
Jan D. Zika
Keyword(s):  
Fresh Water ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Salt Content ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Freshwater Forcing ◽  
Freshwater Fluxes ◽  
Ocean Salinity ◽  
Isopycnal Mixing

AbstractThe global water cycle is dominated by an atmospheric branch which transfers fresh water away from subtropical regions and an oceanic branch which returns that fresh water from subpolar and tropical regions. Salt content is commonly used to understand the oceanic branch because surface freshwater fluxes leave an imprint on ocean salinity. However, freshwater fluxes do not actually change the amount of salt in the ocean and – in the mean – no salt is transported meridionally by ocean circulation. To study the processes which determine ocean salinity we introduce a new variable: “internal salt” and its counterpart “internal fresh water”. Precise budgets for internal salt in salinity coordinates relate meridional and diahaline transport to surface freshwater forcing, ocean circulation and mixing, and reveal the pathway of fresh water in the ocean. We apply this framework to a 1° global ocean model. We find that in order for fresh water to be exported from the ocean’s tropical and subpolar regions to the subtropics, salt must be mixed across the salinity surfaces that bound those regions. In the tropics, this mixing is achieved by parameterized vertical mixing, along-isopycnal mixing, and numerical mixing associated with truncation errors in the model’s advection scheme, while along-isopycnal mixing dominates at high latitudes. We analyze the internal freshwater budgets of the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Ocean basins and identify the transport pathways between them which redistribute fresh water added through precipitation, balancing asymmetries in freshwater forcing between the basins.

A numerical model to simulate the droplet formation process resulting from the release of diluted bitumen products in marine environment

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 (1) ◽  
pp. 449-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Zhao ◽  
Jagadish Torlapati ◽  
Thomas King ◽  
Brian Robinson ◽  
Michel C. Boufadel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Model ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Droplet Formation ◽  
Subsurface Water ◽  
Formation Model ◽  
Wave Effects ◽  
Cold Lake ◽  
Oil Droplet Size

ABSTRACT A numerical model that simulates the dispersion of oil due to the action of waves in the marine environment is presented. Model validations were performed in association with the wave tank experiments conducted in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada. Two dilbit products were considered: Access Western Blend and Cold Lake Blend. The oil droplet size distribution in the subsurface water column obtained from the experimental observations was reproduced using the droplet formation model. Special consideration was made for the simulation of wave effects on surface oil spills. Modeling results show the successful use of droplet formation model in the simulation of oil spills due to wave actions.

Mine failure associated with a pressurized brine horizon; Retsof salt mine, western New York

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel W. Gowan ◽  
Steven M. Trader
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
New York ◽  
Fresh Water ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Fluid Pressure ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Salt Mine ◽  
Eventual Loss ◽  
Brine Pools ◽  
Natural Brine

Abstract The eventual loss of the Retsof Salt Mine from flooding was initiated on March 12, 1994 with a magnitude 3.6 earthquake, the collapse of a small-pillar panel, an initial inrush of brine and gas to the mine and a sustained inflow of fresh water. An examination of closure data for two mine panels involved in the inflow suggested an anomalous buildup of fluid pressure above the panels in the period leading up to their collapse. The initial brine and gas inflow immediately following the collapse coincided with the apparent relief of the excess pressure. The potential existence of a pre-collapse, pressurized, brine and gas pool above the panels was investigated through an analysis of nineteenth century solution mining data, a review of recent salt mine data, and an interpretation of geologic and geophysical data from post-collapse investigations. Published reports from the nineteenth century reveal that natural brine and gas pools existed in the region prior to mining. Correlation of gamma ray logs with geologic logs from contemporary drill holes and core holes provided a mechanism for interpreting the distribution of those natural brine pools. Our investigation indicated that natural gas and brine pools existed within Unit D of the Syracuse Formation approximately 160 ft above the mining horizon. Such brine accumulation apparently formed from the circulation of meteoric water through vertical discontinuities that were connected to overlying fresh water aquifers long before mining began in the valley in the late nineteenth century.

scholarly journals The DeepWater Horizon Oil Slick: Simulations of River Front Effects and Oil Droplet Size Distribution

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Robert Hole ◽  
Knut-Frode Dagestad ◽  
Johannes Röhrs ◽  
Cecilie Wettre ◽  
Vassiliki H. Kourafalou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Droplet Size ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Deepwater Horizon ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Oil Droplet ◽  
River Input ◽  
Oil Slick ◽  
River Outflow ◽  
Oil Droplet Size

The effect of river fronts on oil slick transport has been shown using high resolution forcing models and a fully fledged oil drift model, OpenOil. The model was used to simulate two periods of the 2010 DeepWater Horizon oil spill. Metocean forcing data were taken from the data-assimilative GoM-HYCOM 1/50 ∘ ocean model with realistic daily river input and global forecast products of wind and wave parameters from ECMWF. The simulations were initialized from satellite observations of the surface oil patch. The effect of using a newly developed parameterization for oil droplet size distribution was studied and compared to a traditional algorithm. Although the algorithms provide different distributions for a single wave breaking event, it was found that the net difference after long simulations is negligible, indicating that the outcome is robust regarding the choice of parameterization. The effect of removing the river outflow was investigated to showcase effects of river induced fronts on oil spreading. A consistent effect on the amount and location of stranded oil and a considerable impact on the location of the surface oil patch were found. During a period with large river outflow (20–27 May 2010), the total amount of stranded oil is reduced by about 50% in the simulation with no river input. The results compare well with satellite observations of the surface oil patch after simulating the surface oil patch drift for 7–8 days.

OIL DROPLET SIZE DISTRIBUTION AS A FUNCTION OF ENERGY DISSIPATION RATE IN AN EXPERIMENTAL WAVE TANK

2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 (1) ◽  
pp. 621-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhengkai Li ◽  
Kenneth Lee ◽  
Thomas King ◽  
Michel C. Boufadel ◽  
Albert D. Venosa
Keyword(s):  
Energy Dissipation ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Dissipation Rate ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Breaking Waves ◽  
Energy Dissipation Rate ◽  
Wave Tank ◽  
Chemical Dispersant ◽  
Dispersed Oil ◽  
Dispersant Effectiveness

ABSTRACT The U.S. National Research Council (NRC) Committee on Understanding Oil Spill Dispersants: Efficacy and Effects (2005) identified two factors that require further investigation in chemical oil dispersant efficacy studies: 1) quantification of mixing energy at sea as energy dissipation rate and 2) dispersed particle size distribution. To fully evaluate the significance of these factors, a wave tank facility was designed and constructed to conduct controlled oil dispersion studies. A factorial experimental design was used to study the dispersant effectiveness as a function of energy dissipation rate for two oils and two dispersants under three different wave conditions, namely regular non-breaking waves, spilling breakers, and plunging breakers. The oils tested were weathered MESA and fresh ANS crude. The dispersants tested were Corexit 9500 and SPC 1000 plus water for no-dispersant control. The wave tank surface energy dissipatation rates of the three waves were determined to be 0.005, 0.1, and 1 m2/s3, respectively. The dispersed oil concentrations and droplet size distribution, measured by in-situ laser diffraction, were compared to quantify the chemical dispersant effectiveness as a function of energy dissipation rate. The results indicate that high energy dissipation rate of breaking waves enhanced chemical dispersant effectiveness by significantly increasing dispersed oil concentration and reducing droplet sizes in the water column (p <0.05). The presence of dispersants and breaking waves stimulated the oil dispersion kinetics. The findings of this research are expected to provide guidance to disperant application on oil spill responses.

An experimental study on oil droplet size distribution in subsurface oil releases

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 88-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianwei Li ◽  
Wei An ◽  
Huiwang Gao ◽  
Yupeng Zhao ◽  
Yonggen Sun
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Droplet Size ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Oil Droplet ◽  
Oil Droplet Size
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