Universal gelling agent for the control of hazardous liquid spills

Under contract to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Calspan Corporation developed methods to treat, control and monitor spilled hazardous materials. One of the most successful spill countermeasures applied was a dry, finely-granulated blend which would, within seconds after contact with spilled liquids, begin their transformation into tough, immobile gels which could be easily controlled and removed. This blend is a “universal gelling agent” in the sense that it can immobilize essentially all hazardous liquid spills without foreknowledge of the liquid composition. The blend contains powdered polymeric components optimized separately for interaction with aqueous liquids, chlorinated organics, alcohols, and nonpolar hydrocarbons. It also contains a fumed silica fluidizer, which provides ease of field application and imparts longer term stiffening of all gels formed. The “universal gelling agent” has been demonstrated to be effective on a variety of medium scale (55-gallon drum) spills on both land and water. For special uses, such as organophosphorus pesticide spill control, the blend can be reformulated to include de-toxifying (oxidizing, hydrolytic) ingredients as well.     

Using transportation accident databases to investigate ignition and explosion probabilities of flammable spills

Risk assessment of hazardous material spill scenarios, and quantitative risk assessment in particular, make use of event trees to account for the possible outcomes of hazardous releases. Using event trees entails the definition of probabilities of occurrence for events such as spill ignition and blast formation. This study comprises an extensive analysis of ignition and explosion probability data proposed in previous work. Subsequently, the results of the survey of two vast US federal spill databases (HMIRS, by the Department of Transportation, and MINMOD, by the US Coast Guard) are reported and commented on. Some tens of thousands of records of hydrocarbon spills were analysed. The general pattern of statistical ignition and explosion probabilities as a function of the amount and the substance spilled is discussed. Equations are proposed based on statistical data that predict the ignition probability of hydrocarbon spills as a function of the amount and the substance spilled. Explosion probabilities are put forth as well. Two sets of probability data are proposed: it is suggested that figures deduced from HMIRS be used in land transportation risk assessment, and MINMOD results with maritime scenarios assessment. Results are discussed and compared with previous technical literature.     

液体苯系物等类油物质吸附材料综述

近年来,苯系物等类油物质泄漏事故频发。由于苯系物多数具有极强的毒性和挥发性,因此苯系物比原油等重油泄漏事故引发的危害更大。考虑到苯系物和油类物质理化性质的相似性,对苯系物泄漏事故的应急处置办法可以参考溢油事故的处置办法。通过对溢油事故中常用的无机类吸附材料、有机高分子吸附材料和天然高分子吸附材料的研究现状和应用前景进行了综述,希望能够为相关科研工作者解决苯系物泄漏的应急处置提供思路,促进该领域的快速发展。     

Biological countermeasures for the control of hazardous material spills

A study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of using microbiological processes to mitigate hazardous material spills in watercourses. A literature search, screening tests, laboratory-scale tests, and small-scale, simulated spill tests were conducted. Objectives were to (1) identify microorganisms capable of degrading selected hazardous materials, (2) identify their growth requirements and environmental factors affecting them, (3) determine the fate of selected hazardous materials in water, sediment, and biota, (4) develop methods for production, storage, reculture, and deployment, (5) investigate response requirements, and (6) evaluate the feasibility of biological countermeasures.Study results showed that microorganisms can effectively remove certain hazardous materials since most significant ones are biodegradable. Potentially harmful secondary effects should be minor since microorganisms are a natural part of the aquatic environment. Furthermore, pathogenic bacteria are not likely to constitute a significant part (if any) of the countermeasure, and noxious sludges should not persist because the microorganisms should oxidize themselves following consumption of the hazardous material.     

Spill behaviour using REACTPOOL. Part III. Results for accidental releases of phosphorus trichloride (PCl(3)) and oxychloride (POCl(3)) and general discussion

Phosphorus trichloride and oxychloride are aggressive materials, widely used in the process industries. On escape to the atmosphere they create toxic clouds that may cause serious damage to people and to the environment. When spilled onto the ground they create liquid pools that can boil, evaporate or even solidify. The main feature of the pool behaviour is the exothermic reaction of these chemicals with water, which is complicated and depends heavily on the amount of water available for reaction, and as result of which the pool has changing composition and properties. The purpose of this paper is to describe the dangers involved in cases of accidental releases of phosphorus trichloride and oxychloride, to report their properties, referring to toxicity data and major accidents. The spill behaviour of phosphorus trichloride and oxychloride has been incorporated into REACTPOOL [R.F. Kapias, C. Griffiths, J. Haz. Mater.]. Model results indicate that the pool behaviour is strongly affected by the amount of water available for reaction. Surface roughness and wind speed, also have a strong effect on the results. Although there are no experimental data for model validation, it is shown that REACTPOOL gives useful insights into the behaviour of such spills. The paper concludes with a discussion comparing the behaviour for several water reactive chemicals to which REACTPOOL has been applied.     

Development of a terrestrial chemical spill management system

Adequately preparing for and responding to terrestrial (land-based) chemical spills are critical to the protection of human health and the environment. To facilitate analysis and support decision-making for such events, the authors have developed an environmental risk management system that characterizes the ability of a spilled chemical to immediately impact human health, groundwater, surface water, and soil resources, and incorporates these four risk areas into an overall measure of terrestrial chemical risk. This system incorporates a risk index model, leverages geographic information systems (GIS) technology, and contains a comprehensive chemical and environmental database to assess and delineate the immediate threat posed by a terrestrial chemical spill. It is designed to serve a variety of stakeholders, including managers and policy-makers, who would benefit from generating screening-level environmental risk assessments without requiring a technical background or collection of detailed environmental and chemical data. Areas of potential application include transportation routing, industrial zoning, environmental regulatory compliance and enforcement, spill response, and security planning.     

The design and demonstration of a fluidized bed incinerator for the destruction of hazardous organic materials in soils

Many types of thermal oxidation systems in existence today are suitable for the destruction of organic hazardous wastes. Few, however, offer the versatility of fluidized beds. Past research and commercial fluidized bed installations have demonstrated the ability of fluidized beds to successfully destroy organic constituents in a wide assortment of gas, liquid, sludge, and solid wastes. This article describes a further advance: the design and testing of a fluidized bed capable of destroying organic constituents in clay, silt, sands, and gravels. This advance makes fluidized beds suitable for on-site waste cleanup of breached lagoons, dump sites with leached liquids, or spills of liquid chemical wastes.The soil decontamination program was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of fluidized bed systems for total cleanup of sites contaminated with hazardous organic materials. This paper describes the research program conducted to optimize fluidized bed design for this application, and discusses the lessons learned on material handling. The conclusion is that fluidized bed incineration systems are an effective tool for the cleanup of hazardous organic materials in soil.     

State and national resources for community spill disaster preparedness in the united states

United States local contingency planning is considered from the special perspective of the resources available at the state and federal levels for hazardous materials accidents and emergency spills. The National Response Network for the United States is described in terms of the units and levels of government constituting that capability. Special features of local plans are discussed, and communications with state and federal response agencies are emphasized. State and federal resources for hazardous spill planning and response are described, particularly within the context of the regional and national response teams. The additional benefits of the agressive assistance of commercial and industrial assistance are discussed, and the additional benefits of local spill planning to the community are described. The article lists the regional U.S. Environmental Protection Agency contacts for spill response planning assistance.     

An aqueous concentration model for riverine spills.

A numerical model is developed to predict the aqueous concentrations of sparingly soluble compounds resulting from oil, fuel, or chemical spills onto rivers. The model computes the concentration of compounds both in the slick phase and in the aqueous phase by simulating the processes that affect the fate of the spilled compound. Processes simulated by the model include spreading and drifting of the surface slick, evaporation from the slick, dissolution from the slick into the water, volatilization from the water, and longitudinal dispersion in the river. The model is used to simulate a hypothetical spill of jet fuel, demonstrating that the concentration of a compound in the aqueous phase is strongly linked to its concentration in the slick phase. The most soluble and most volatile compounds exhibit the highest aqueous concentrations in the early stages of the spill, but ultimately the less soluble and less volatile compounds reach the highest aqueous concentrations. Streamwise concentration gradients in the slick due to the rapid evaporation of the more volatile compounds are shown to have an effect on the aqueous concentration.     

Treatment of hazardous materials spills in flowing streams with floating mass transfer agents

Field studies were conducted in a Flowing Stream Test Facility to determine parameters governing application of floating media (in this case, commercially-available activated carbon) to flowing streams for the purpose of treating hazardous materials spills in situ. It was found that removal efficiency is highly dependent on prompt location of the contaminant plume, even dispersion of media over the water surface, and favorable environmental conditions. This technique is most effective for concentrated plumes in small streams, and removal efficiencies increase as the size of the spill increases. Removal efficiencies ranged from 50 to > 95%, depending upon the substance being used in the tests.Further investigation should focus on ballast and packaging techniques, methods for increasing efficiency of contact, prevention of carbon buildup along stream banks, and efficiency of spent carbon collection.     

A flame-retardant post-synthetically functionalized COF sponge as absorbent for spilled oil recovery

Journal of Materials Science - Frequent oil spills pose severe damages to the marine ecosystems and result in hazardous fires when the spilled oil is ignited. Developing high-performance,...     

Evaluation of a containment barrier for hazardous material spills in watercourses

This project was undertaken to design, develop, and evaluate a physical barrier system to contain accidental concentrated spills of insoluble hazardous materials in water. The system was to be effective in flowing water, light-weight easily transportable, and capable of being deployed by a minimum number of trained personnel.A prototype barrier designed to meet the above criteria was constructed of a flexible, fiber-reinforced plastic curtain with air-inflatable flotation. To prevent escape of polluting materials from the contained mass of water, the bottom of the barrier is sealed against the bottom of the watercourse with a liquid-filled bladder held in place with several anchors. The ends of the curtain are laced together to give a cylindrical shape.Full-scale field testing of the barrier system was initially conducted in 1971 and 1972 to evaluate deployment techniques, to determine the amount of leakage from the barrier by using dye as a simulated hazardous material, and to measure the loads imposed on the barrier by currents. Testing was again conducted in 1976 with an improved barrier system incorporating changes based on the earlier tests.As a result of the field tests, it was concluded that a properly designed barrier system could contain spills and leaks that were not rapidly dispersed into the water environment. Such spills would include releases of concentrated insoluble hazardous substances that pool on or near the bottom. But the studies also demonstrated that the hazardous material barrier (HMB) had serious shortcomings, the greatest being its sensitivity to currents, the time required for deployment. and weight-related handling difficulties. Rapid technological advancements in plastics and their fabrication. coupled with the experiences gained from this study, may now make it possible to construct a barrier that can be deployed more rapidly and with less difficulty.Though this report is being issued several years after project completion, information on the study was presented at the 1972 National Conference on Control of Hazardous Materials Spills, and technical advice has been provided on this topic to EPA Regions making inquiries. We hope that the release of the report will stimulate those in the user community that may want to further the development of this concept.     

Current research on the disposal of hazardous wastes

The Solid and Hazardous Waste Research Laboratory is one of six laboratories in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Environmental Research Center at Cincinnati, Ohio. The laboratory is responsible for research into new and improved systems of solid and hazardous waste management, development of technology, determination of environmental effects, and collection of data necessary for the establishment of processing and disposal guidelines. In the past, the laboratory concentrated on problems associated with municipal solid waste; but recently the emphasis has shifted, and present efforts are directed primarily toward the problem of industrial hazardous waste disposal on land. Under the solid waste program, investigations were initiated on the migration of municipal landfill leachate and leachate containment with synthetic liners. These studies have been underway for more than a year, but they will not be discussed here because of the present emphasis on industrial hazardous waste problems. Although none of our research projects is concerned specifically with the disposal of residues and sorbants generated during cleanup of hazardous material spills, much of the forthcoming information will be applicable to spill-cleanup problems. The extramural projects and program areas described here involve many activities that could be useful in spill problems.     

Characteristics of the mobile field use system for the detoxification/incineration of residuals from oil and hazardous material spill clean-up operations

The Mobile ERIC is a complex thermal and chemical processing plant capable of detoxification of hazardous organic spills and contaminated debris at remote locations throughout the United States. It is designed to handle moderate spills in an efficient manner without undue restriction concerning the physical nature of the input wastes.     

功能性多孔炭材料在突发性环境污染事故中的应用

多孔炭材料具有比表面积大、孔结构发达等优点，是应急处理泄漏油品、有毒化学品和废水的理想吸附剂。通过对多孔炭材料作为吸附剂在突发性环境污染事故中的应用研究进行了归纳和总结，对多孔炭材料在突发性环境污染事故中的应用前景及未来工作进行了评述和展望。讨论了突发性环境污染事故应急处置过程中基于多孔炭材料的合理技术路线和工艺条件，指出研发新型功能性多孔炭材料及做好基础数据的积累是今后研究工作的努力方向。     

Keys to modeling LNG spills on water

Although no LNG ship has experienced a loss of containment in over 40 years of shipping, it is important for risk management planning to understand the predicted consequences of a spill. A key parameter in assessing the impact of an LNG spill is the pool size. LNG spills onto water generally result in larger pools than land spills because they are unconfined. Modeling of LNG spills onto water is much more difficult than for land spills because the phenomena are more complex and the experimental basis is more limited.

The most prevalent practice in predicting pool sizes is to treat the release as instantaneous or constant-rate, and to calculate the pool size using an empirical evaporation or burn rate. The evaporation or burn rate is particularly difficult to estimate for LNG spills on water, because the available data are so limited, scattered, and difficult to extrapolate to the large releases of interest.

A more effective modeling of possible spills of LNG onto water calculates, rather than estimating, the evaporation or burn rate. The keys to this approach are to:

• Use rigorous multicomponent physical properties.

• Use a time-varying analysis of spill and evaporation.

• Use a material and energy balance approach.

• Estimate the heat transfer from water to LNG in a way that reflects the turbulence.

These keys are explained and demonstrated by predictions of a model that incorporates these features. The major challenges are describing the effects of the LNG–water turbulence and the heat transfer from the pool fire to the underlying LNG pool. The model includes a fundamentally based framework for these terms, and the current formulation is based on some of the largest tests to-date. The heat transfer coefficient between the water and LNG is obtained by applying a “turbulence factor” to the value from correlations for quiescent film and transition boiling. The turbulence factor is based on two of the largest unignited tests on water to-date. The heat transfer from the fire to the pool is based on the burning rate for the largest pool fire test on land to-date.     

Experimental study of the spill and vaporization of a volatile liquid

Pool and vapor cloud characteristics of an acetone spill issuing from the downstream wall of a flow obstruction oriented perpendicular to a uniform flow were investigated experimentally. Data indicate that the spill event was largely governed by the temperature of the surface in relation to the boiling point of the spilled liquid. The free stream velocity (ranging from 0.75 to 3.0m/s) also impacted the spreading of the spill. Planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) was used to measure acetone vapor concentrations during the transient pool spreading and vaporization in a window 60cm long by 50cm high and located downstream of the 16cm high obstruction. The recirculation region induced by the flow obstruction caused upstream transport of the acetone vapor along the spill surface, after which it was convected vertically along the obstruction wall before being entrained into the flow and convected downstream. The recirculating flow caused regions of vapor within the flammability limits to be localized near the flow obstruction. These regions moved into and out of the measurement plane by large three-dimensional flow structures. The flammable region of the evolved vapor cloud was observed to grow well past the downstream edge of the measurement domain. With decreasing wind speeds, both the mass of acetone vapor within the flammability limits and the total spill event time increased significantly. The data presented herein provides a basis for validating future spill models of hazardous chemical releases, where complex turbulent flow modeling must be coupled with spill spreading and vaporization dynamics.     

Analysis of large LNG spills on water part 1: Liquid spread and evaporation

The first part of this two-part review considers the theoretical and experimental results obtained on liquid spread and evaporation on large LNG spills on water. Both instantaneous spills, in which the spill time is much smaller than the time for complete vaporization, and continuous spills are considered. Also applications of the correlations are discussed.     

In-depth analysis of accidental oil spills from tankers in the context of global spill trends from all sources

This study gives a global overview of accidental oil spills from all sources (> or =700t) for the period 1970-2004, followed by a detailed examination of trends in accidental tanker spills. The present analysis of the number and volume of tanker spills includes temporal and spatial spill trends, aspects of spill size distribution as well as trends of key factors (i.e., flag state, hull type, tanker age, accident cause and sensitivity of location). Results show that the total number and volume of tanker spills have significantly decreased since the 1970s, which is in contrast to increases in maritime transport of oil and to popular perceptions following recent catastrophic events. However, many spills still occur in ecologically sensitive locations because the major maritime transport routes often cross the boundaries of the Large Marine Ecosystems, but the substantially lower total spill volume is an important contribution to potentially reduce overall ecosystem impacts. In summary, the improvements achieved in the past decades have been the result of a set of initiatives and regulations implemented by governments, international organizations and the shipping industry.