New Tech to Expedite Oil Spill Clean Up Tested in U.S.

The Flame Refluxer could "become an effective tool for minimising the environmental impact of future oil spills."

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), along with the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Research and Development Center, have announced that tests on a new technology, known as the Flame Refluxer, have shown that the prototype can "greatly accelerate" the combustion of crude oil floating on water.

The tests, which were conducted earlier this month by WPI and BSEE at the USCG's Joint Maritime Test Facility on Little Sand Island in Mobile Bay, Alabama, are said to have demonstrated the Flame Refluxer's potential to "become an effective tool for minimising the environmental impact of future oil spills."

Team lead, Ali Rangwala, professor of fire protection engineering at WPI, commenting on the test's results, said: "we observed that virtually no residue was left over after our burns with the Refluxer, an indication that it promotes more complete combustion of the oil.”

The Flame Refluxer utilises in-situ burning, which is intended to remove oil before it can settle into the water column and cause ecological harm.

"In-situ burning has been used with great success, and it is our goal to support research that makes a good method even better," said Karen Stone, oil spill response engineer at BSEE.

"This research, and the results of this week’s tests, are particularly exciting. We saw hotter fires increase the amount of oil that was consumed, what appears to be cleaner emissions, and a significant reduction in burn residue after the burn. Initially we were hopeful that the technology could capture any remaining residue after the burn, but the fires burned so efficiently there was very little to collect."

While results of the testing are still to undergo analysis before findings are made official, the Flame Refluxer's performance is suggested to have met with expectations.