Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emissions from the combustion of crude oil on water

Factors required to measure the environmental impact of the in situ combustion of crude oil on water were investigated. Those factors include the fraction of an oil layer that can be burned, the quantity of smoke produced, and the concentrations of 18 PAHs in the smoke, crude oil, and burn residue. Alberta Sweet crude oil, in layers of different thickness, was burned on water. Smoke samples were collected at elevated and ambient temperatures and analyzed by two independent laboratories. Burning the crude oil produced less total PAHs than were present originally in the crude oil, but concentrations of PAHs with five or more rings were 10-20 times greater in the smoke than in the oil. The organic carbon fraction of the smoke was approximately 14-21%. The smoke yield increased from 0.035-0.080 g smoke/g fuel, and the oil residue percentage decreased from 46-21% as the fuel layer thickness was increased from 2 to 10 mm. In situ burning can mitigate the local environmental impact of an oil spill by consuming much of the oil spill and reducing the amount of PAHs in the water and by dispersing the combustion products over a larger area. In situ burning might be the most workable cleanup method in remote areas like the Arctic ice fields.