A Model for Predicting Rate and Volume of Oil Spill in Horizontal and Vertical Pipelines

Abstract

Accurate prediction of total quantity of oil spilled has become essential in designing bioremediation projects for effective remediation, cleanup and for proper assessment of oil polluted environments. The principle of conservation of energy was used to derive a simple analytical model to predict the rate and total volume of oil spills from both horizontal and vertical pipelines. The model was validated by comparing with laboratory measured results at various leakages, pressure and leakages radii. The results indicate that the model values match with the experimental values. The average standard deviation of the model from experimental values is 8.35x10^-5 bbl while the absolute error ranges from 1.11x10^-3 to 3.08x10^-1, and the correlation coefficient value is 0.978. This fact suggests that the model should be utilized with a high degree of confidence to determine the rate of oil spills and total quantity of oil spill in both horizontal and vertical pipelines. The model would help in determining the corresponding quantity of microorganism required to design an effective bioremediation project, and to carry out proper assessment and evaluation of environmental impacts of oil spill in offshore, onshore, or shallow water environments.

Key words: Bioremediation, oil spill, environmental pollutants, flow rate