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Jet Formation at the Spill Site and Resulting Droplet Size Distributions

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Deep Oil Spills

Abstract

The size distribution of oil droplets and gas bubbles forming at the exit geometry of a deep-sea blowout is one of the key parameters to understand its propagation and fate in the ocean, whether with regard to rising time to the surface, drift by ocean currents, dissolution or biodegradation. While a large 8 mm droplet might rise to the sea surface within minutes or hours, microdroplets <100 μm may take weeks or months to surface, if at all. On the other hand, a microdroplet or bubble dissolutes faster due to its larger surface to volume ratio and is also more available for biodegrading bacteria. To be able to properly model these effects, it is necessary to understand the drop formation processes near the discharge point and to predict the evolving droplet size distribution (DSD) for the specific conditions.

In this chapter, the general breakup mechanisms and flow regimes of an oil-in-water jet are discussed in Sect. 4.1. Section 4.2 focuses on the different approaches to determine the DSD in the laboratory and field settings and critically reviews the existing datasets. State-of-the-art models for the prediction of the DSD of a subsea oil discharge are presented alongside a new approach based on the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in Sect. 4.3, while Sect. 4.4 takes a closer look at the specific effects of the deep sea on the DSD. Based on this, Sect. 4.5 discusses the advantages and limitations of subsea dispersant injection. Section 4.6 provides a summary of the chapter and gives an outlook to unresolved questions.

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Abbreviations

A :

Empirical coefficient in the modified Weber number scaling

B :

Empirical coefficient in the modified Weber number scaling

CDF:

Cumulative distribution function

D :

Nozzle/discharge diameter

d 32 :

Sauter diameter

d n50 :

Median diameter of number distribution

d p :

Drop/particle diameter

d v50 :

Median diameter of volume distribution

DOR:

Dispersant-to-oil ratio

DSD:

Drop size distribution

erf(x):

Gauss error function

exp(x):

Exponential function

IFT:

Interfacial tension

k i :

Scaling factor

M :

Oil mass inside the nozzle

Oh:

Ohnesorge number

p :

Pressure

Δp:

Pressure drop at the nozzle

Q :

Volume flow rate

Re :

Reynolds number

u l :

Exit velocity of dispersed liquid phase

Vi:

Viscosity number

We:

Weber number

We*:

Modified Weber number

α :

Spreading factor of the Rosin-Rammler distribution function

ε :

Turbulent energy dissipation rate

ε u :

Turbulent energy dissipation rate caused by the exit velocity

ε pd :

Turbulent energy dissipation rate caused by pressure drop at the nozzle

η l :

Dynamic viscosity of dispersed liquid phase

ρ l :

Density of dispersed liquid phase

ρ c :

Density of continuous phase

σ :

Spreading factor of the log-normal distribution function

σ l :

Interfacial tension (IFT) between dispersed liquid phase and continuous phase

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Acknowledgments

This research was made possible by a from the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative/C-IMAGE. Data are publicly available through the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC) at https://data.gulfresearchinitiative.org/ (DOIs: 10.7266/n7-jjqd-pa77, 10.7266/n7-eha7-tv03, 10.7266/N7V69H19, 10.7266/N77D2SM2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Product Development and Mechanical Engineering Design, Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany

    Karen Malone & Dieter Krause

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia

    Zachary M. Aman

  3. Hamburg University of Technology, Institute of Multiphase Flows, Hamburg, Germany

    Simeon Pesch & Michael Schlüter

Authors
  1. Karen Malone
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  2. Zachary M. Aman
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  3. Simeon Pesch
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  4. Michael Schlüter
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  5. Dieter Krause
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karen Malone .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL, USA

    Steven A. Murawski

  2. College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL, USA

    Cameron H. Ainsworth

  3. College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, Saint Petersburg, FL, USA

    Sherryl Gilbert

  4. College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL, USA

    David J. Hollander

  5. Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Claire B. Paris

  6. Hamburg University of Technology, Hamburg, Germany

    Michael Schlüter

  7. Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, USA

    Dana L. Wetzel

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Malone, K., Aman, Z.M., Pesch, S., Schlüter, M., Krause, D. (2020). Jet Formation at the Spill Site and Resulting Droplet Size Distributions. In: Murawski, S., et al. Deep Oil Spills. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11605-7_4

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