In-situ burning of spilled hydrocarbons using multiple pool fire numerical models

In-situ burning is one of the methods used for oil spill cleanup. Optimising an in-situ burning method using multiple pool fires (MPF) has not been widely studied. In this study, a novel framework is proposed to assess the effectiveness of an MPF in response to oil spills on water surfaces. The framework is applied to four cases using the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). It is found that an MFP can result in incomplete combustion and negative pressure effects if pools are too close to each other, thereby resulting in a reduction in the mass burning rate. However, an MFP has a higher mass burning rate of spilled oil than a single pool fire if appropriate distances among pool fires are maintained. An MFP can increase the speed of recovering the oil compared with a single pool fire due to high temperature and heat flux.