Tokyo, JapanTokyo
March 2, 2011

The Controlled Burning of Oil
During the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Alan A
A. AllenSpiltec

Topics

Brief History of Controlled Burning
Trade-offs and Constraints
Deepwater Horizon Burn Operations
Lessons Learned

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Very First“Fire Boom”
April 5, 1983
KKenai,i AlAlaska
kAl Allen, Spiltec
Wayne Simpson, Shell Oil

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Tank Tests – 1980’s & 1990’s
Products Burned:
Diesel Crude oil
Diesel,& Propane
Temperatures:oo~ 1100 C (> 2000 F)
Flame Durations:Typically 2 to 3 hours

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Field Trials
Full‐Scale Burns
Aerial & Surface Ignition
Burn times: 2 to 3 hours

Svalbard 1988

North Sea 1996
Newfoundland 1993
Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Actual Spill Event – 1989
Prince William Sound, Alaska
Exxon Valdez~ 17 km2 (> 6 ½ miles2of continuous dark oil

Day 2: Controlledburn in a towed “U”
configuration withfire boom

Spiltec
Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Controlled Burningy Disadvantages
gy Authorization Requiredy Oil Encounter Rate ffor Wide-SpreadpSlicks
y Smoke Plume & Burn Residue
y Proximity Constraints for Populated Areasy Limited Availability of Fire Boom & Expertisey Potential Secondary Fires

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Controlled Burninggy Advantages

322y HighHi h oilil eliminationli i ti ratet (0(0.171171 m /Hr/m/H / , 0.07
0 07 gpm/ft/ft )y Very High Efficiency of Removal (typically 90% -95%)
y Risk reduction (hazardous/flammable vapors)y Minimal logistics and equipment requirementsy Effective over wide range
g of oil types
yp & conditionsy Specialized equipment (fire boom) cost effective, easily

maintained and transportabley Storage/Disposal not required (except for burn residue)y Minimal environmental impact (short-term & localized)

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Burn Locations: ~ 25 to 55 miles off shore
Ti i
Timing:
A il 28th – JulyApril
J l 19th 2010
Source: Continuous Release, 5,000’ deep, dispersant injection
Surface Slicks: Light crude, widely spread, unstable emulsion

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Special Operational Considerations
Oil Access or “Encounter Rate”(E h(Enhancementsffor Eff
Efficient, High-VolumeH h V lElimination)El)

Surveillance & “Spotting”
Spotting
Vessels of Opportunity (VOO)
Broad Tactical Capability(Feeding burns, Multiple burns, Burning outside boom, etc.)

Integration of Response Options(Spatial & Temporal)

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Towed Fire Boom Configuration

Tow Vessels startingg agradual left turn to intercept
heavy oil ahead

To w L i n e
90 m(300 feet)

Nominal Burn Area

Typically ~ 650 m2 (7,000 feet2)
To2~ 2,500 m (27,000 feet2)
when full to leading ends of boom

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Controlled Burning – Capture, Ignition & Burn
Concentration of Oil &Release to Fire Boom

Igniter

Ignition BoatOOpenAApex
Fire Boom

Gradual Spread
pof Flameover Contained Oil

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Surveillance & “Spotting”
Critical for Effective Operations

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Vessels of Opportunity

Local fishing vessels provided
theh “core”“” off theh Controlledll dBurn Fleet

Captains
p&Crews received
HAZWOPER
training as well
as classroom
landhands-on
training forC t ll dControlled
Burning
Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Wildlife & Responder Protection

Personnel are trained
to watch for andprotect wildlife priorppto, during and afterburns.
Specialists
Si li t fromfffederaldl andd llocall agencies
i ttravell
with the burn teams and monitor smoke particles,
volatile organic compounds & any exposure to oil.

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

All Ignitions with Hand
Hand‐‐held Igniters

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Igniter Release, Heating of Oil, and Flame Spread

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Burn Residue
Stiff, taffy‐Stifftaffy‐like,
like material
Typically a few % of the original volume burned
Depleted
pof its volatile hydrocarbons
yAlan A. Allen, Spiltec

Oil “even emulsions”
Could be fed to Ongoing Burns

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Long – Duration Burns
BURN # 224
Lasted for 11
Hours And Forty
Eight Minutes

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Burning Outside of Fire BoomIf sufficient volumes of oilcollect
ll t directlyditl ddownstream,tburning may continue outside
the boom. Such burning isnormally small and can becontrolled with boat wakes andfire monitors.
fRising hot air may drawoil into the fire helping
to sustain fire thatwould normally burn out
within minutes.

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Many days involved multiple
simultaneous burns
On June 18
8th, 2010,0 0, the burn teams
conducted 16 burns resulting in theelimination of ~ 50,000 to 70,000 bbl of oil.

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Burn Area/Duration

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

More than 400 burns conducted.
376 burns off significant
si nificant size eliminatin
eliminating
between ~ 220,000 bbl and 310,000 bbl.

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Daily Burn Volumes
Controlled Burn Volume Estimate
Days without burns
were primarily due tohigh wind/seaconditions

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Types of Fire Boom
¾23,000¾23000 f
feett off fi
fire bboom used:dHydro-Fire Boom Pyro Boom
3M/AMIOil Stop¾and Kepner

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Hydro‐Fire Boom
Water-Cooled
Water
Cooled Reelable
Individual Inflated Segments
Redundant Water Cooling & Filtering Systems

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

American Marine – 3M
High-Temperature
Hh T
CeramicCandd
Stainless Steel Covers
Solid Flotation Core

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

PyroBoom

Fence-Type Boom with Silicone
Coatedd Refractory
fFabric
Aluminum *Connectors & StainlessSteel Floats with Glass Foam

* Recent enhancements include SS Hinge Connectors & Top‐Edge Reinforcement
Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Fire Boom Summary(Used during Deepwater Horizon Spill – 2010)
PerformancePf
Factors

Elastec
Hydro‐Fire

Elastec
AmericanMarine‐3M

AFT, Inc.
AFTI
Pyro

Oil Stop

KepnerNo. of Systems
Used2737

13

32Longest
Continuous
BBurn

11 hours,
48 min.

11 hours,
21 min.

3 hours,
13 min.

27 min.

43 min.

Average No. ofBarrels Burnedper System

5,061

3,915

1,74928295

Alan A. Allen, Spiltec

Observations & Lessons Learned• Controlled Burning – Shift from “Alternative” to“Primary” response option.
• FireFi B
Boom TTechnology
h l– Tools
T l andd Tactics
T ti now
proven for the rapid and efficient elimination of large
quantities of oil at sea.
sea
• System Performance – Potential elimination ofpg approximatelypp
y 17%
300,000 bbl or more, representingof oil available at the sea surface.
• Cost per Barrel Eliminated – Typically US$ 20 to 40( fraction(afoff theh cost forf dispersant
dapplication
landd
mechanical recovery/disposal).
• Most Vital Ongoing Support – Surveillance,Surveillance Spotting& Communications.
pProactive Effort – Coordination with• Important
regulators, public and media, and integration of all
response options.
Alan A. Allen, Spiltec