Effect of carbon-based nanoparticles on the ignition, combustion and flame characteristics of crude oil droplets

TL;DR

This study explores how carbon-based nanomaterials like acetylene black and multi-walled carbon nanotubes influence the ignition, combustion, and flame behavior of crude oil droplets, aiming to improve in-situ burning efficiency for oil spill cleanup.

Contribution

It provides novel experimental data on the effects of specific nanomaterials on crude oil combustion characteristics, which was not previously well-understood.

Findings

Maximum combustion rate increased by up to 39.5% with nanomaterials.

Flame stand-off ratio decreased with nanoparticle additives.

Nanomaterials enhanced combustion efficiency of crude oil droplets.

Abstract

The use of in-situ burning (ISB) as a clean-up response in the event of an oil spill has generated controversy because of unburned hydrocarbons and products of incomplete combustion left behind on an ISB site. These substances threaten marine life, both in the ocean and on the ocean floor. Treating crude oil as a multicomponent liquid fuel, this manuscript investigates the effect of carbon-based nanomaterials, acetylene black (AB) and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT), on the combustion and flame characteristics of crude sourced from the Bakken formation (ND, USA). Sub-millimeter droplets of colloidal suspensions of Bakken crude and nanomaterials at various particle loadings were burned, and the process was captured with CMOS and CCD cameras. The resulting images were post-processed to generate burning rate, ignition delay, total combustion time, and flame stand-off (FSR) ratio data for the various crude suspensions. A maximum combustion rate enhancement of 39.5% and 31.1% was observed at a particle loading of 0.5% w/w acetylene black nanoparticles and 0.5% w/w multi-walled carbon nanotubes, respectively. Generally, FSR for pure Bakken was noted as larger than for Bakken with nanoparticle additives. These results are expected to spur further investigations into the use of nanomaterials for ISB crude oil clean-ups.