Numerical Modeling of Pollutant Dispersion and Oil Spreading by the Stochastic Discrete Particles Method

Abstract

We consider two applications of the stochastic discrete particles method. The first one is concerned with the dispersion of a passive pollutant by a turbulent stream with a scale dependent diffusion coefficient. The second application deals with the problem of an oil spill spreading on the water surface described by transport-diffusion equation with a nonlinear diffusion coefficient. For the first problem we develop a discrete particles algorithm provided the diffusion coefficient obeys Richardson's "4/3" law and show good correspondence with the numerical and analytical results. The second problem is more involved and we develop a heuristic procedure based on the standard discrete particles random walk algorithm updating the dependence of each particle step variance on the dependent function. The obtained solution coincides well with analytical and direct one-dimensional finite-difference solutions both for instantaneous and continuous oil release.

A Role for Newly Developed Sorbents in Remediating Large‐Scale Oil Spills: Reviewing Recent Advances and Beyond

“…[60][61][62][63] The oil weathering process involves spreading, evaporation, dispersion, emulsification, and oxidation (Figure 2). [64][65][66][67][68][69] Although spreading and horizontal dispersion both begin immediately once a spill occurs, [70][71][72] spreading stopped within a day, while dispersion continues for up a week. [73] For many oil spills, evaporation is the process that will affect the mass balance.…”

Computation of Aqueous Environment Contamination Parameters on the Basis of the Lagrangian Approach

“…To avoid well‐known difficulties arising in the simulation of pollutant spreading phenomena (see, e.g., Ref. [4]) and focus our attention on the demonstration of the computation of the hydrophysical quantities introduced we intentionally use a simplified statement of the problem in question. The formulation of a more precise problem statement with a proper mathematical description of hydrophysical properties of the phenomenon involved is a rather complex problem by itself which lies beyond the scope of this paper.…”