The objective of this study was to quantify the ignition, in situ burning characteristics, and soot production of six U.S. OCS crudes and their emulsions. This was accomplished through a modest, laboratory scale test program.
This project is complete. Six oil samples were selected by MMS regional personnel and subjected to a laboratory test program. Three oils were produced in the Gulf of Mexico and three from California. A sample of each oil was weathered for one week in a wind tunnel. Emulsion formation tendency and stability was tested for each oil using the standard rotating flask technique. Both weathered and fresh samples of each oil were tested. The effectiveness of three emulsion breaking chemicals was tested.
Baseline burn tests were conducted to determine the natural burning characteristics of water-free and emulsified slicks of fresh and weathered oils. Burn efficiency and burn rate were calculated from the data gathered in the burn tests. Results demonstrate that in situ burning is not a suitable response for all OCS crude oils. A final report is available. Six additional OCS crude oils are currently being burn tested and analyzed (in TAR Project 312) to the same testing protocol.