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Technology
Assessment & Research (TA&R) Program
| Project Number |
554 |
| Date of Summary |
March 19, 2007 |
| Subject |
Mid-Scale Test Tank
Research On Using Oil Herding Surfactants To Thicken Oil Slicks In Broken
Ice |
| Performing Activity |
S.L. Ross
Environmental Research Ltd. |
| Principal Investigator |
Ian Buist |
| Contracting Agency |
Minerals Management Service |
| Estimated Completion |
Completed |
| Description |
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) and
ExxonMobil are jointly funding research on the use of chemical herding
agents to thicken oil spills in broken ice to allow them to be effectively
ignited and burned in situ. Laboratory and small scale wave tank research is
complete (results very promising). The next three phases are:
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To plan and conduct a series of
research experiments on the efficacy of herders to thicken oil slicks
among broken ice at sub-zero temperatures at the scale of 100 m2 in the
Ice Engineering Research Facility Test Basin at the US Army Cold Regions
Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL), located in Hanover New
Hampshire (November 14-December 2, 2005).
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January-February 2006 - Conduct a series of research experiments on
the efficacy of herders to thicken oil slicks among broken ice at
sub-zero temperatures. Tests will be conducted at the scale of
1000 m2 at Ohmsett – The National
Oil Spill Response Test Facility. The Ohmsett experiments will be
conducted in conjunction with the MMS Alaska Environmental Studies
Program oil spreading and emulsification experiments in broken ice
already scheduled for the winter 2006.
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October
2006 – Conduct a series of in situ burn experiments on the scale of 50 m2
with chemical herders and crude oil at the Fire Training Grounds,
Prudhoe Bay, AK. The burns would be conducted in a specially prepared
pit containing broken sea ice. |
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| Progress |
Five full scale research experiments on the
efficacy of herders to thicken oil slicks among broken ice at sub-zero
temperatures were successfully conducted at the scale of 1000 m2 at Ohmsett
– The National Oil Spill Response Test Facility from February 13-17, 2006.
From November 2-7, 2006 a series of in
situ burn experiments were successfully conducted on the scale of 50 m2
with chemical herders and crude oil at the Fire Training Grounds,
Prudhoe Bay, AK. The burns were conducted in a specially prepared pit
containing broken sea ice. This is a permitted activity and all
necessary permits have been secured. All planned experiments in the
test matrix were completed.
MMS has reviewed and accepted the final
report. This project is complete. |
Reports |
|
AA (237 pages,
6,014 KB) |
Mid-Scale Test Tank Research on Using Oil
Herding Surfactants to Thicken Oil Slicks in Broken Ice, S.L. Ross
Environmental Research Ltd., Ottawa, ON, Canada, 66pp., March 7, 2007. |
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