GROUP V FUEL OILS: SOURCE, BEHAVIOR, AND RESPONSE ISSUES

Autor: Jacqueline Michel, Bradford Benggio, Debra Scholz, Charles B. Henry
Rok vydání: 1995
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings. 1995:559-564
ISSN: 2169-3358
2169-3366
DOI: 10.7901/2169-3358-1995-1-559
Popis: Electric utilities have been increasing their use of Group V fuel oils (known in the industry as low-API gravity fuel oils or LAPIO), because of their relatively low cost and high btu values. Group V fuel oils are defined as having an API gravity less than 10 at 60° F (thus a specific gravity ≤1.00 g/cm3). These oils have a wide range of densities and properties and thus cannot be characterized as a single product with a given set of properties and behavior. Group V fuel oils can float, be neutrally buoyant, sink, or all three, depending on their composition and the physical nature of the receiving waters (salinity, temperature, suspended sediment content). They can physically separate into fractions with different behavior. Three models are proposed for predicting the behavior of Group V fuel oil spills, based on observations at previous spills. If spilled directly into the water, heavier-than-water oil will form into drops and remain in suspension if there is any current. In no-current areas, sinking oil can accumulate on the bottom and be recovered. When mixed in the surf zone, the oil tends to pick up sand and sink, without ever stranding on shore. Special problems are associated with locating, containing, and recovering oil that is neutrally buoyant or on the bottom.
Databáze: OpenAIRE