HANOVER, N.H. (March 29, 2018) --Nathan Lamie recently led a demonstration of strategies to increase the recovery of spilled crude oil in and under ice at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s laboratory in Hanover, New Hampshire.
In collaboration with the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s Oil Spill Preparedness Division, and in conjunction with Alaska Clean Seas, the team conducted testing utilizing the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory’s Geophysical Research Facility. The researchers, in collaboration with industry experts and oil spill responders, identified tasks to improve operations of mechanical oil spill mitigation equipment in offshore and open ocean Arctic environments.
Modifications, demonstrations and evaluations were made to the existing rope mop oil recovery system in order to enhance oil recovery rates. Additionally, a remotely operated vehicle was fitted with a mounted air bubbler and submerged in the basin to evaluate a technique to use air to herd under ice oil to a recovery site.
“Using steam heat is incredible for the efficiency of the rope mop,” said Leonard Zabilansky, an engineer with the CRREL team. “During each cycle the mop is decontaminated, leaving the fibers rejuvenated for effective oil recovery. And, although preliminary, the ROV has great potential.”