A CFD Model to Evaluate Near-Surface Oil Spill from a Broken Loading Pipe in Shallow Coastal Waters

Oil spills continue to generate various issues and concerns regarding their effect and behavior in the marine environment,owing to the related potential for detrimental environmental,economic and social implications.It is essential to have a solid understanding of the ways in which oil interacts with the water and the coastal ecosystems that are located nearby.This study proposes a simplified model for predicting the plume-like transport behavior of heavy Bunker C fuel oil discharging downward from an acutely-angled broken pipeline located on the water surface.The results show that the spill overall profile is articulated in three major flow areas.The first,is the source field,i.e.,a region near the origin of the initial jet,followed by the intermediate or transport field,namely,the region where the jet oil flow transitions into an underwater oil plume flow and starts to move horizontally,and finally,the far-field,where the oil re-surface and spreads onto the shore at a significant distance from the spill site.The behavior of the oil in the intermediate field is investigated using a simplified injection-type oil spill model capable of mimicking the undersea trapping and lateral migration of an oil plume originating from a negatively buoyant jet spill.A rectangular domain with proper boundary conditions is used to implement the model.The Projection approach is used to discretize a modified version of the Navier-Stokes equations in two dimensions.A benchmark fluid flow issue is used to verify the model and the results indicate a reasonable relationship between specific gravity and depth as well as agreement with the aerial data and a vertical temperature profile plot.

Coalescence separation of oil water emulsion on amphiphobic fluorocarbon polymer and silica nanoparticles coated fiber-bed coalescer

Discharging untreated oily wastewater into the environment disrupts the ecological balance,which is a global problem that requires urgent solutions.Superhydrophilic and superoleophilic fibrous medium(FM)effectively separated oil–water emulsion as it was hydrophobic underwater.But its separation efficiencies(SEs)first increased to 98.9%,then dropped to 97.6%in 10 min because of oil-fouling.To tackle this problem,FM deposited with 0%–10%silica nanoparticle(NPsFMs),then coated by fluorocarbon polymer(X-[CH_(2)CH_(2)O]nCH_(2)CH_(2)O-Y-NH-COOCH_(2)C4F9)(FCNPs FMs),was used to enhance its roughness and regulate its initial wettability to improve the anti-fouling property.FCFM and FCNPs FMs were hydrophobic and oleophobic in air and oleophobic underwater.Their water contact angles,oil contact angles and oil contact angles were 115.3°–121.1°,128.8°–136.5°,and 131.6°–136.7°,respectively,meeting the requirement of 90°–140°for coalescence separation.FCNPs FM-5 had the best separation performance with a constant value of 99.8%in 10 min,while that of FCNPs FM-10 slightly decreased to 99.5%.Theoretical released droplet(TRD)diameter,calculated by the square root of the product of pore radius and fiber diameter,was used for the evaluation of coalescence performance.Analyzed by two ideal models,TRD diameter and fiber diameter showed a parabola type relationship,proving that the separation efficiency was a collaborative work of wettability,pore size and fiber diameter.Also,it explained the SEs reduction from FCNPs FM-5 to FCNPs FM-10 was revelent to the three parameters.Moreover,FCNPsFMs effectively separated emulsions stabilized by cationic surfactant CTAB(SEs:97.3%–98.4%)and anionic surfactant SDBS(SEs:91.3%–93.4%).But they had an adverse effect on nonionic surfactant Tween-80 emulsion separation(SEs:94.0%–71.76%).Emulsions made by diverse oils can be effectively separated:octane(SEs:99.4%–100%),rapeseed oil(SEs:97.3%–98.8%),and diesel(SEs:95.2%–97.0%).These findings provide new insights for designing novel materials for oil–water separation by coalescence mechanism.

Development and Application of Oil-Spill Risk Assessment Model for Offshore Pipeline

To the potential oil-spill risk caused by offshore pipeline more attention has been paid after the Dalian oil spill incident from oil-pipeline explosion. Since then an issue about how to prevent and control the sudden oil-spill from the offshore pipeline has been raised. In this paper, we proposed an optimized model to analyze the main causes(probability) of spill and the consequence with the fuzzy comprehensive assessment model. Considering the complicated assessment process for oil-spill, the assessment factor system involving the spill probability and consequence was established based on the operative manual and statistic leakage/damage data of offshore pipeline in order to estimate the integrated spill risk score automatically. The evaluated factors of spill probability could be grouped into five aspects: corrosion, fatigue, national damage, third party, and operational fault; the consequence evaluated factors of spill included hazard of oil and impact-controlling capability. With some modifications based on experts' opinions, each of the evaluated factors in our work was developed with a relative weight and evaluation criterion. A test example for an offshore pipeline in the Bohai waters was described to show how the model can be used for an actual case in more detail. By using the oil-spill risk assessment model, it is easy to determine the risk level associated with the ongoing activity and management level and hence to take the risk mitigation action immediately.

Modelling of the behavior of marine oil spills: applications based on random walk techniques

A numerical model has been developed to simulate the transport and fate of oil spilled at sea. The model combines the transport and fate processes of spilled oil with the random walk technique. Oil movement under the influence of tidal currents, wind driven currents, and turbulent eddies is simulated by the PLUME RW dispersion model developed by HR Wallingford. The weathering processes in the model represent physical and chemical changes of soil slicks with time, and comprise mechanical spreading, dispersion, evaporation and emulsification. Shoreline stranding is determined approximately using a capacity method for different shoreline types. This paper presents details of the model, and describe the results of various sensitivity tests. The model is suitable for oil spill contingency planning.

Characteristics of Oil Contamination and Numerical Modelling of Its Transport in Fracture-Karst Water in Zibo City,China

In this paper, the hydraulic characteristics of the fracture-karst aquifer and the distribution patterns of petrochemical contaminants are studied. Then, a numerical model using the mixed Eulerian-Lagrangian approach is constructed to predict the distribution and transport of petrochemical compounds in groundwater. The results of numerical modelling and sensitivity analysis show that it may be a workable way for aquifer remediation to combine contamination sources control and capture zone establishment.

Tungsten incorporated mobil-type eleven zeolite membranes: Facile synthesis and tuneable wettability for highly efficient separation of oil/water mixtures

Tungsten (W) incorporated mobil-type eleven (MEL) zeolite membrane (referred to as W-MEL membrane) with high separation performance was firstly explored for the separation of oil/water mixtures under the influence of gravity.W-MEL membranes were grown on stainless steel (SS) meshes through in-situ hydrothermal growth method facilitated with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) modification of stainless steel meshes,which promote the heterogeneous nucleation and crystal growth of W-MEL zeolites onto the mesh surface.W-MEL membranes were grown on different mesh size supports to investigate the effect of mesh size on the separation performance of the membrane.The assynthesized W-MEL membrane supported on 500 mesh (25μm)(W-MEL-500) exhibit the hydrophilic nature with a water contact angle of 11.8°and delivers the best hexane/water mixture separation with a water flux and separation efficiency of 46247 L·m^(-2)·h^(-1)and 99.5%,respectively.The wettability of W-MEL membranes was manipulated from hydrophilic to hydrophobic nature by chemically modifying with the fluorine-free compounds (hexadecyltrimethoxysilane (HDTMS) and dodecyltrimethoxysilane(DDTMS)) to achieve efficient oil-permselective separation of heavy oils from water.Among the hydrophobically modified W-MEL membranes,W-MEL-500-HDTMS having a water contact angle of146.4°delivers the best separation performance for dichloromethane/water mixtures with a constant oil flux and separation efficiency of 61490 L·m^(-2)·h^(-1)and 99.2%,respectively along with the stability tested up to 20 cycles.Both W-MEL-500-HDTMS and W-MEL-500-DDTMS membranes also exhibit similar separation performances for the separation of heavy oil from sea water along with a 20-fold lower corrosion rate in comparison with the bare stainless-steel mesh,indicating their excellent stability in seawater.Compared to the reported zeolite membranes for oil/water separation,the as-synthesized and hydrophobically modified W-MEL membranes shows competitive separation performances in terms of flux and separation efficiency,demonstrating the good potentiality for oil/water separation.

Sedimentary facies and depositional model of shallow water delta dominated by fluvial for Chang 8 oil-bearing group of Yanchang Formation in southwestern Ordos Basin,China

A systematic analysis of southwestern Ordos Basin's sedimentary characteristics,internal architectural element association styles and depositional model was illustrated through core statistics,well logging data and outcrop observations in Chang 8 oil-bearing group.This analysis indicates that shallow water delta sediments dominated by a fluvial system is the primary sedimentary system of the Chang 8 oil-bearing group of the Yanchang Formation in southwestern Ordos Basin.Four microfacies with fine grain sizes are identified: distributary channels,sheet sandstone,mouth bar and interdistributary fines.According to the sandbody's spatial distribution and internal architecture,two types of sandbody architectural element associations are identified: amalgamated distributary channels and thin-layer lobate sandstone.In this sedimentary system,net-like distributary channels at the delta with a narrow ribbon shape compose the skeleton of the sandbody that extends further into the delta front and shades into contiguous lobate distribution sheet sandstone in the distal delta front.The mouth bar is largely absent in this system.By analyzing the palaeogeomorphology,the palaeostructure background,sedimentary characteristics,sedimentary facies types and spatial distribution of sedimentary facies during the Chang 8 period,a distinctive depositional model of the Chang 8 shallow water fluvial-dominated delta was established,which primarily consists of straight multi-phase amalgamated distributary channels in the delta plain,net-like distributary channels frequently diverting and converging in the proximal delta front,sheet sandstones with dispersing contiguous lobate shapes in the distal delta front,and prodelta or shallow lake mudstones.

A review of numerical modeling research on the marine oil spill

Recently, as the oceanic activities are more and more frequently carried out, marine oil spill accidents bring to enormous harm to the economy and society in China, especially in the Offshore China. Marine oil spill is one kind of serious disasters which severely damages the marine environment. Aiming at the improvement of the emergency response system and response ability for the oil spill, the relative technologies on oil spill response are developed. This paper briefly introduces the developments and achievements of the oil spill numerical models, including the oil spill spreading model, the oil spill transport model, the oil particle model as well as the oil spill weathering model, which provide the theoretic criterions for the future work on the oil spill predicting and response.

Oil Spill Model Operational Application in Damage Assessment and Case Study of Validation

Oil spill modeling is an important technical measure to evaluate the impact of oil spills scientifically. Because of the great uncertainty in its early development, simulation results have not been used as the basis of judgments for environmental compensation cases. Despite this, scientific research institutes in many countries, including China, are still devoted to the research and development of oil spill models and their applications in environmental damage assessment, which makes it possible to apply them in the judicial arbitration of damages claims. The relevant regulations on the Chinese compensation fund for oil pollution damage from ships and the judicial authentication of environmental damage have also accredited such kind of modeling applications. In order to enhance the applicability of oil spill model further, it is necessary to expand its damage assessment function, and to test, calibrate and verify the accuracy of the evaluation. To this end, the author adopts the self-developed 3-dimentionaloil spill model—CWCM to simulate the “Tasman Sea” oil spill accident. By comparing the simulation results of tidal current field, wind field, oil spill trajectory with those observed, the model coding and parameter selection are corrected, and it is realized that the simulation being basically consistent with the measured results. In addition, the results of the scale reduced simulation test of oil spill weathering are applied verifying and perfecting the weathering model of CWCM. The technical requirements and process for operational application of oil spill model in judicial arbitration are also put forward. In view of the rapid simulation function, the operational updating program for oil spill weathering model, coupled current model and dynamic update wind field diagnostic model are put forward in order to further improve the operational evaluation function and evaluation efficiency of oil spill model.

Superhydrophobic melamine sponge prepared by radiation-induced grafting technology for efficient oil-water separation

This paper presents a superhydrophobic melamine(ME)sponge(ME-g-PLMA)prepared via high-energy radiation-induced in situ covalent grafting of long-alkyl-chain dodecyl methacrylate(LMA)onto an ME sponge for efficient oil–water separation.The obtained ME-g-PLMA sponge had an excellent pore structure with superhydrophobic(water contact angle of 154°)and superoleophilic properties.It can absorb various types of oils up to 66–168 times its mass.The ME-g-PLMA sponge can continuously separate oil slicks in water by connecting a pump or separating oil underwater with a gravity-driven device.In addition,it maintained its highly hydrophobic properties even after long-term immersion in different corrosive solutions and repeated oil adsorption.The modified ME-g-PLMA sponge exhibited excellent separation properties and potential for oil spill cleanup.

Experimental study on the movement of oil spill under freeze-thaw action

Oil leakages cause environmental pollution,economic losses,and even engineering safety accidents.In cold regions,researchers urgently investigate the movement of oil spill in soils exposed to freeze-thaw cycles.In this study,a series of laboratory model experiments were carried out on the migration of oil leakage under freeze-thaw action,and the distributions of the soil temperature,unfrozen water content,and displacement were analyzed.The results showed that under freeze-thaw action,liquid water in soils migrated to the freezing front and accumulated.After the pipe cracked,oil pollutants first gathered at one side of the leak hole,and then moved around.The pipe wall temperature affected the soil temperature field,and the thermal influence range below and transverse the pipe wall(35–40 cm)was larger than that above the pipe wall(8 cm)owing to the soil surface temperature.The leaked oil's temperature would make the temperature of the surrounding soil rise.Oil would inhibit the cooling of the soils.Besides,oil migration was significantly affected by the gravity and water flow patterns.The freeze-thaw action would affect the migration of the oil,which was mainly manifested as inhibiting the diffusion and movement of oil when soils were frozen.Unfrozen water transport caused by freeze-thaw cycles would also inhibit oil migration.The research results would provide a scientific reference for understanding the relationship between the movement of oil pollutants,water,and soil temperature,and for establishing a waterheat-mass transport model in frozen soils.

Fouling-resistant Composite Membranes for Separation of Oil-in-water Microemulsions

Fouling-resistant ceramic-supported polymer composite membranes were developed for removal of oil-in-water （O/W） mieroemulsions. The composite membranes were featured with an asymmetric three-layer structure, i.e., a porous ceramic membrane substrate, a polyvinylidene fluoride （PVDF） ultrafiltration sub-layer, and a polyamide/polyvinyl alcohol （PVA） composite thin top-layer. The PVDF polymer was east onto the tubular porous ceramic membranes with an immersion precipitation method, and the polyamide/PVA composite thin top-layer was fabricated with an inteffaeial polymerization method. The effects of the sub-layer composition and the recipe in the inteffaeial polymerization for fabricating the top-layer on the structure and performance of composite membranes were systematically investigated. The prepared composite membranes showed a good performance for treating the O/W microemulsions with a mean diameter of about 2.41μm. At the operating pressure of 0.4MPa, the hydraulic permeability remained steadily about 190L·m^-2·h^-1, the oil concentration in the permeate was less than 1.6mg·L^-1, and the oil rejection coefficient was always higher than 98.5% throughout the operation from the beginning.

Super-hydrophobic and super-lipophilic functionalized graphene oxide/polyurethane sponge applied for oil/water separation

Nowadays, oil spills have led to a serious environmental crisis of the world. To deal with this problem, inspired from super-hydrophobic lotus leaf, this study fabricated super-hydrophobic and super-lipophilic functionalized graphene oxide/polyurethane （FGP） sponge by a simple and inexpensive dip coating method. The resulting FGP sponge was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and water contact angle. The results expressed that FGP sponge exhibited a similar surface structure to that of a lotus leaf, and possessed the super-hydrophobic characteristic with the water contact angle （WAC） of 152°± 1 °. The absorption capacity and reusability were also investigated. It can be seen that, the FGP sponge can remove a wide range of oils and organic solvents from water with good absorption capacities （up to 35 times of its own mass）. Significantly, after 10 cycles the absorption capacity of the oils and organic solvents was higher than 90°; for the reused FGP sponge, demonstrating the good reusability of the FGP sponge. Therefore, this study probably provided a simole way to remove the pollutions ofoil spills and toxic organism from water.

Adsorption of oil from waste water by coal:characteristics and mechanism

The work described here was focused on exploring the potential application of coal to purification of oily waste water.Coal was added to oily waste water as an adsorbent and then removed through a flotation process.This allowed economical and highly efficient separation of oil from the waste water.The absorption time,coal type,coal particle size distribution,pH value and oil concentration were investigated.The results indicate that oil absorption by a coal increases for a period of 1.5 h and then gradually tends toward an equilibrium value.It appears that the absorption capacity of anthracite is more than that of lean coal or lignite,given the same coal particle size distribution.The absorption capacity of a coarse coal fraction is less than that of finer coal,given the same of coal type.The absorption capacity of anthracite decreases slightly as the pH increases from 4 to 9.The adsorption of oil on anthracite follows the Freundlich isothermal adsorption law:given initial oil concentrations of 160.5 or 1023.6 mg/L the absorption capacity was 23.8 or 840.0 mg/g.The absorption mechanism consists of two kinds of absorption,a physical process assisted by a chemical one.

Oil Spill Dispersion Forecasting with the Aid of a 3D Simulation Model

The simulation of the transport and fate of an oil slick, accidentally introduced in the marine environment, is the focus of this research. An oil spill dispersion forecasting system （DIAVLOS forecasting system）, based on wind, wave and ocean circulation forecasting models is developed. The 3-D oil spill model, by the University of Thessaloniki, is based on a Lagrangian （tracer） model that accounts for the transport-diffusion-dispersion and physicochemical evolution of an oil slick. The high resolution meteorological, hydrodynamic and wave models are coupled with the operational systems ALERMO and SKIRON of the University of Athens. The modelling system was successfully assembled and tested under theoretical and realistic scenarios, in order to be applied in forecasting mode and be used by local authorities when an accident occurs. As a result, a 48-hours oil spill dispersion forecasting system was synthesized aiming primarily at the oil spill management at the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil-pipe terminal, part of a greater busy coastal basin in North Aegean.

The sensitivity of the array resistivity log to mud filtrate invasion and its primary five-parameter inversion for improved oil water recognition

In order to improve reservoir fluid recognition, the sensitivity of array resistivity response to the difference of the invasion properties in both oil-bearing layers and water layers is analyzed. Then the primary inversion is carried out based on the array resistivity log. The mud invasion process is numerically simulated based on the oil-water flow equation and water convection diffusion equation. The results show that the radial resistivity of a fresh mud-invaded oil-bearing layer presents complex distribution characteristics, such as nonlinear increase, increasing to decreasing and low resistivity annulus, and the resistive invasion profile of a water layer is monotonic. Under specific conditions, array resistivity log can reflect these changes and the array induction log is more sensitive. Nevertheless, due to the effect of factors like large invasion depth, reservoir physical and oil-bearing properties, the measured apparent resistivity may differ greatly from the actual mud filtrate invasion profile in an oil-bearing layer. We proposed a five-parameter formation model to simulate the complex resistivity distribution of fresh mud-invaded formation. Then, based on the principle of non-linear least squares, the measured array resistivity log is used for inversion with the Marquardt method. It is demonstrated that the inverted resistivity is typically non-monotonic in oil-bearing layers and is monotonic in water layers. Processing of some field data shows that this is helpful in achieving efficient reservoir fluid recognition.

Characterization of water-in-crude oil emulsions in oil spill response

The formation of water in crude oil emulsions occurs when crude oils are spilled into sea. The water in crude oil emulsions significantly change the properties of the spilled crude oils and in turn influence the choices made relating to oil spill countermeasures. The water in crude oil emulsions were characterized using various techniques in this study. The environmental scanning electron microscopy observation of water droplets in the emulsions is also presented. It is a powerful tool in emulsion observations.

Separation of Oil Phase from Dilute Oil/Water Emulsion in Confined Space Apparatus

A miniature process for separating the oil phase from dilute oil/water emulsion is developed.This process applies a confined space apparatus,which is a thin flow channel made of two parallel plastic plates.The space between the two plates is rather narrow to improve the collisions between oil droplets and the plate surface.Oil droplets have an affinity for the plate surface and thus are captured,and then coalesce onto the surface.The droplet size distribution of the residual emulsion resulted from the separation process is remarkably changed.The oil layer on the plate weakens the further separation of oil droplets from the emulsion.Three types of plate materials,polypropylene(PP),polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE) and nylon 66,were used.It is found that PP is the best in terms of the oil separation efficiency and nylon 66 is the poorest.The interaction between droplets in the emulsion and plate surface is indicated by the spreading coefficient of oil droplet on the plate in aqueous environment,and the influences of formed oil layer and plate material on the separation efficiency are discussed.