In-situ burning of crude oil in the Arctic

Understanding and predicting the environmental impact

Project type:      PhD Project

Funding:            Danish Council for Independent Research

Cooperation:      Worchester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and the Danish Centre for Environment and Energy (DCE)

PhD student:     Laurens van Gelderen

Supervisor:        Grunde Jomaas

Time schedule:  Jan 2014 – Dec 2016

Keywords:         oil spill, oil burning, artic conditions

Links:                Isboil website

Project description

This project focuses on the environmental issues related to in-situ burning (ISB) of crude oil in cold climates. Upon ISB, several combustion products are formed that can pose a serious toxic threat to the surrounding environment (Buist et al., 2013; Kennedy, Barnea, & Shigenaka, 1994). Residues and the big black smoke clouds are two of the most obvious combustion products that might have an impact on the different water layers (surface, sub surface and bottom) and the atmosphere.

Over the past two decades a number of toxicological studies have been conducted (Daykin et al., 1994; Faksness et al. 2012; Gulec & Holdway, 1999), but these did not take into account the vulnerable Arctic ecosystem nor did any long-term studies. When ISB is going to be implemented as the main response method to Arctic oil spills, the environment will be more frequently exposed to the combustion products, potentially resulting waste accumulation. Such toxicological analyses will be required to determine whether or not ISB is a favorable response method to oil spills compared to other cleaning methods or no response at all.

A second issue is that the environmental impact of ISB in the Arctic is not only of scientific concern, but also is of concern to policy-makers and the general public. So far, concerns about the environment (e.g. the smoke formation) have kept ISB from the majority of the political agendas regarding oil spill responses (Potter et al., 2013). Thus, in order to get ISB implemented in society the environmental impact needs to be optimized not only from a scientific point of view, but also from the point of view of decision-makers.

Research objective

The research objective of this Ph.D. project is to develop a simple, applicable procedure for in-situ burning of crude oil under Arctic conditions. This objective is to be reached in three steps:

1. Studying the burning mechanisms of ISB in cold climates in relation to the formation of combustion products.
2. Understand and subsequently be able to predict and optimize the environmental impact of ISB methods.
3. Adapt optimized ISB methods to the demands and concerns of decision-makers to develop an applicable procedure.

This Ph.D. project will make use of the DTU Fire Lab in order to study burning mechanisms in relation to the environmental impact. Burning mechanisms of ISB under Arctic conditions will be studied in more detail in collaboration with WPI and toxicological research will be conducted in collaboration with DCE.

For more information, contact details and student project possibilities please visit www.isboil.dtu.dk.

Essential literature

Buist, I.A., Potter, S.G., Trudel, B.K., Walker, A.H., Scholz, D.K., Brandvik, P.J., Fritt-Rasmussen, J., Allen, A.A., & Smith, P. (2013).
In Situ Burning in Ice Affected Waters
A Technology Summary and Lessons from Key Experiments: Arctic Response Technology

Daykin, M., Sergy, G., Aurand, D., Shigenaka, G., Want, Z., & Tang, A.(1994)
Aquatic Toxicity Resulting from In Situ Burning of Oil-On-Water.
Paper presented at the Proceedings of the Seventeenth Arctic and Marine Oil Spill Program (AMOP) Technical Seminar

Faksness, L.-G., Hansen, B.H., Altin, D., & Brandvik, P.J. (2012)
Chemical composition and acute toxicity in the water after in situ burning - A laboratory experiment.
Marine Pollution Bulletin, 64(1), 49-55,

city of laboratory burned oil to the amphipod Allorchestes compressa and the snail Polinices conicus.
Spill Science & Technology Bulletin, 5(2), 135-139

Paper presented at the In Situ Burning Oil Spill Workshop Proceedings, Orlando, Florida

Potter, S.G., Buist, I.A., Trudel, B.K., Walker, A.H., Brandvik, P.J., Fritt-Rasmussen, J., & Allen, A.A. (2013)

In Situ Burning in Ice-Affected Waters: Status of Regulations in Arctic and Sub-Arctic Countries: Arctic Response Technology