Behavior of Rising Droplets and Bubbles: Impact on the Physics of Deep-Sea Blowouts and Oil Fate

Pesch, Simeon; Schlüter, Michael; Aman, Zachary M.; Malone, Karen; Krause, Dieter; Paris, Claire B.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-11605-7_5

Cited by 11 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Overall, several elements like the restrictions in accurately measuring the prevailing oceanographic conditions and the limited available data on released volumes, exact location, fluxes, etc., make the modeling of deep subsea releases more demanding than shallow-water and surface releases. In blowouts/buoyant jets, this is attributed mostly to the expanded interaction among oil and the water column, in advance of atmospheric exposure, the presence of strong ocean currents, high pressures and low temperatures near the seabed, the interaction with the sub-bottom rocky layers and submarine sediments, and the existence of high pressures and temperatures in oil and gas reservoirs [152][153][154][157][158][159]. A detailed description of the convoluted thermodynamic processes, which take place in the near-field, and the hydrodynamic processes in the far-field is presented, for example, in [159].…”

Section: Surface Oil Spill Models and Blowout/buoyant Plume Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oil Spill Modeling: A Critical Review on Current Trends, Perspectives, and Challenges

Keramea

Spanoudaki

Zodiatis

et al. 2021

JMSE

147

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Several oil spill simulation models exist in the literature, which are used worldwide to simulate the evolution of an oil slick created from marine traffic, petroleum production, or other sources. These models may range from simple parametric calculations to advanced, new-generation, operational, three-dimensional numerical models, coupled to meteorological, hydrodynamic, and wave models, forecasting in high-resolution and with high precision the transport and fate of oil. This study presents a review of the transport and oil weathering processes and their parameterization and critically examines eighteen state-of-the-art oil spill models in terms of their capacity (a) to simulate these processes, (b) to consider oil released from surface or submerged sources, (c) to assimilate real-time field data for model initiation and forcing, and (d) to assess uncertainty in the produced predictions. Based on our review, the most common oil weathering processes involved are spreading, advection, diffusion, evaporation, emulsification, and dispersion. The majority of existing oil spill models do not consider significant physical processes, such as oil dissolution, photo-oxidation, biodegradation, and vertical mixing. Moreover, timely response to oil spills is lacking in the new generation of oil spill models. Further improvements in oil spill modeling should emphasize more comprehensive parametrization of oil dissolution, biodegradation, entrainment, and prediction of oil particles size distribution following wave action and well blow outs.

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Section: Surface Oil Spill Models and Blowout/buoyant Plume Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oil Spill Modeling: A Critical Review on Current Trends, Perspectives, and Challenges

Keramea

Spanoudaki

Zodiatis

et al. 2021

JMSE

147

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“…Experimental works indicate that a decrease in pressure by 3 to 10 bars across a millimeter size orifice could cause the disintegration of a live oil droplet (Malone et al, 2018). Other experiments along the same vein were conducted by Pesch et al (2020) who showed the droplet increasing in size due to the expansion of the gas within it. These experiments were conducted from small orifices under laminar conditions.…”

Section: Oil Droplet Size Distribution (Dsd)mentioning

confidence: 76%

“…Xue and Katz (2019) provided observations of composite droplets where small droplets exist within a water bath surrounded by the large droplet. The decrease of pressure at the orifice of a riser is also likely to enhance the release of natural gas from live oil (Pesch et al, 2020), which could cause the expansion of the oil droplets and subsequent bursting if the decrease is large.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review on Multiphase Underwater Jets and Plumes: Droplets, Hydrodynamics, and Chemistry

Boufadel

Socolofsky

Katz

et al. 2020

Reviews of Geophysics

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Jets and plumes have been the focus of quantitative investigations since the mid‐1950s. These investigations intensified following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in which thousands of tons of oil and natural gas were released into the Gulf of Mexico. This review focuses on plume dynamics that apply to both single‐phase and multiphase liquid‐in‐liquid and liquid plus gas into liquid plumes, including bubble and droplet formation, and heat and mass transfer. Broadly, our work highlights several previously unknown or overlooked aspects of multiphase flow in the deep oceans. Upstream of the jet release, multiphase hydraulics can significantly affect the turbulence, for instance, through churn flow that enhances the turbulence in the free jet, affecting the conditions where bubbles and droplets are formed. Droplet formation was a major focus recently, with experiments covering a range of scales and flow rates of oil and gas at low and high pressure. Detailed observations of droplet formation at the jet‐water boundary reveal the formation of compound droplets, which are emulsions of oil and water with implications for mass conservation and mass transfer. At the plume scale, integral models have been adapted to include the complex thermodynamics and chemistry of oil and gas plumes. In parallel, significant advances were made in numerical simulations of multiphase plumes through large eddy simulations by treating the oil and gas either a continuous or discrete phase. Through this work, a vivid picture of the complex droplet, chemical, and hydrodynamic behavior of multiphase plumes in the ocean is emerging.

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“…For the case 2, with a d50 of 117 µm, the relative anomalies of surfacing time are higher among the different PDFs due to the wider range of surfacing time compared to case 1. This long surfacing time results from the small d50 and the omission of internal degassing process, whereby the multiphase droplet ascent accelerates as its gas-phase expands with decreasing hydrostatic pressure (Pesch et al 2018(Pesch et al , 2020b. Notably, the lognormal distribution differs the most from the Rosin-Rammler and VDROP-J PDFs (Figure 1b,d).…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 98%

The choice of droplet size probability distribution function for oil spill modeling is not trivial

Faillettaz

Paris

Vaz

et al. 2021

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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The droplet size distribution (DSD) formed by gas-saturated oil jets is one of the most important characteristics of the flow to understand and model the fate of uncontrolled deep-sea oil spills. The shape of the DSD, generally modeled as a theoretical lognormal, Rosin-Rammler or non-fundamental distribution function, defines the size and the mass volume range of the droplets. Yet, the fundamental DSD shape has received much less attention than the volume median size (d50) and range of the DSD during ten years of research following the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) blowout. To better understand the importance of the distribution function of the droplet size we compare the oil rising time, surface oil mass, and sedimented and beached masses for different DSDs derived from the DWH literature in idealized and applied conditions, while keeping d50 constant. We highlight substantial differences, showing that the probability distribution function of the DSD for far-field modeling is, regardless of the d50, consequential for oil spill response. Highlights► The importance of the oil droplet size distribution function was not known. ► The distribution function of the DSD drives the oil mass distribution patterns. ► First response should consider different d50s and probability distribution functions.

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Behavior of Rising Droplets and Bubbles: Impact on the Physics of Deep-Sea Blowouts and Oil Fate

Cited by 11 publications

References 23 publications

Oil Spill Modeling: A Critical Review on Current Trends, Perspectives, and Challenges

Oil Spill Modeling: A Critical Review on Current Trends, Perspectives, and Challenges

A Review on Multiphase Underwater Jets and Plumes: Droplets, Hydrodynamics, and Chemistry

The choice of droplet size probability distribution function for oil spill modeling is not trivial

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