A study of the efficacy of in-situ burning (ISB) asa response tool for oils transported in Alaska has been partially completed. The first phase of the work involved laboratory burn tests to determine, with four oils, the limits to ignition imposed by evaporation and emulsification.Tests were also conducted to determien the effecttiveness of chemical emulsion breakers in extending the ignition limits. The results demonstrate that the combination of evaporation and emulsification can serverely curtail the ignition of slicks of the oils, but that application of an emulsion breaker can significantly extend the window of opportunity for ISB. Both the limits to ignition and the effectiveness of the emulsion breaker addition were found to be dependent on the oil type; oil-specific testing is required to ascertain the potential effective-ness of ISB and emulsion breaker addition. The second phase of the study comprised a series of burn tests with Alaska North Slpe (ANS) crude in waves. For untreated slicks, burn efficiency and burn time both decreased with increasing wave energy. These effects were most pronounced for the thicker slicks and heavily weathered oil and emulsion. The application of a commercially available emulsion reaker permitted the successful burning of otherwise unignitable ANS emulsion slicks in waves. The results showed that mixing eneryg, either from mechanical agitation or from wave action, was necessary for the emulsion breaker to be effective. The most significant result was the successful burning in waves of a weathered 60
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