Reducing Flammability for Bakken Crude Oil for Train Transport: Phase III
Crude oil shipping by rail is a critical component of the energy security and has grown steadily with the Bakken oil boom. Existing rail infrastructure, however, is widely understood to be in a state of disrepair, as is evidenced in the recent years by several high-profile derailments of trains carrying crude oil. These incidents lead to large oil spills, and the oil finds itself in the presence of various hot surfaces on the site (such as wheel wells). This is an especially dangerous situation in the case of Bakken crude, which is of a light variety and contains significant amounts of easy to evaporate, easy to ignite light ends, and usually the result is an intense fireball. This research proposal considers a solution to improve fire safety during transportation: adding long chain polymers to crude oil before shipping. Previous research done by Professor Albert Ratner’s research group under MATC-DOT sponsorship has concluded that polymeric additives improve fire safety in diesel fuels and its blends by suppressing splashing, delaying ignition, and promoting flame extinction. There is a strong indication that the same will be true for crude oil as well. As part of the Year 1 effort for this project, mixtures of pure organic compounds, which serve to mimic the splashing and combustion characteristics of Bakken crude, were identified and tested for their ability to suspend polymers and nano-particles that will serve as the fire limiting agents. These pure chemical mixtures act as crude oil surrogates and are necessary because of their homogeneity, reproducibility, and better optical properties. In Year 2 of the project, an experimental study of the ignition, combustion and flame characteristics was carried out for crude oil sourced from the Bakken formation, as well as oil from Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Using petrodiesel and biodiesel fuels as multi-component and single component surrogates for crude oil, similar characteristics were established for these surrogates with carbon-based nanoadditives at various particle loadings. These studies were expanded with Bakken and Pennsylvania crudes mixed with various polymeric additives and carbon-based nanoadditives at various concentrations. In Year 3 of the project, experiments will be performed to study the splashing, mist formation of the surrogate and real crude droplets on flat surfaces at various conditions. Computational studies to be begin in Year 3 and should yield tangible results in Years 4 and 5. These results will allow for this information to be linked with surrogate and crude properties by using methods developed in the aforementioned study. The polymer with the best performance and its optimal concentration for surrogates will be determined, and its performance with Bakken crude will also be evaluated. This knowledge will then be transferred to industry for implementation.
Language
- English
Project
- Status: Completed
- Funding: $155800
-
Contract Numbers:
69A3551747107
-
Sponsor Organizations:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology
University Transportation Centers Program
Department of Transportation
Washington, DC United States 20590 -
Managing Organizations:
Mid-America Transportation Center
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
2200 Vine Street, PO Box 830851
Lincoln, NE United States 68583-0851 -
Performing Organizations:
University of Iowa, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
3100 Seamans Center for the Engineering Arts and Sciences
Iowa City, Iowa United States 52242 -
Principal Investigators:
Ratner, Albert
- Start Date: 20191213
- Expected Completion Date: 20201231
- Actual Completion Date: 20201231
- USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program
- Source Data: RiP Project 91994-45
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Crude oil; Fire prevention; Flammability; Hazardous materials; Mist; Polymers; Railroad safety; Railroad transportation; Splashing
- Subject Areas: Energy; Freight Transportation; Materials; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 01736245
- Record Type: Research project
- Source Agency: Mid-America Transportation Center
- Contract Numbers: 69A3551747107
- Files: UTC, RIP
- Created Date: Apr 16 2020 4:07PM