Reducing Flammability for Bakken Crude Oil for Train Transport – Phase II

Crude oil shipping by rail is a critical component of our energy security, and has grown steadily with the Bakken oil boom. Existing rail infrastructure, however, is widely understood to be in a state of disrepair, as is evidenced in the recent years by several high-profile derailments of trains carrying crude oil. These incidents lead to large oil spills, and the oil finds itself in the presence of various hot surfaces on the site (such as wheel wells). This is an especially dangerous situation in the case of Bakken crude, which is of a light variety and contains significant amounts of easy to evaporate, easy to ignite light ends, and usually the result is an intense fireball. This research proposal considers a solution to improve fire safety during transportation: adding long chain polymers to crude oil before shipping. Previous research done by Dr. Albert Ratner et al under MATC-DOT sponsorship has concluded that polymeric additives improve fire safety in diesel fuels and its blends by suppressing splashing, delaying ignition, and promoting flame extinction. There is a strong indication that the same will be true for crude oil as well. As part of the Year 1 effort for this project, mixtures of pure organic compounds, which will serve to mimic the splashing and combustion characteristics of Bakken crude, were identified and have been tested for ability to suspend polymers and nano-particles that will serve as the fire limiting agents. These pure chemical mixtures will act as crude oil surrogates and are necessary because of their homogeneity, reproducibility, and better optical properties. In year 2 of the project, experiments will be performed to study the splashing, mist formation, and ignition characteristics of the droplets in the presence of hot surfaces. Effects of various polymers in various concentrations on these characteristics will be studied for the surrogate mixtures. Computational studies to be conducted in years 3 and 4 will allow for this information to be linked with surrogate and crude properties by using methods developed in the aforementioned study. The polymer with the best performance and its optimal concentration for surrogates will be determined, and its performance with Bakken crude will also be evaluated. This knowledge will then be transferred to industry for implementation.

• Record URL:
  http://matc.unl.edu/research/research_project.php?researchID=554

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Completed
• Funding: $155798
• Contract Numbers:

  69A3551747107

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

  University Transportation Centers Program
  Department of Transportation
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Mid-America Transportation Center

  University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  2200 Vine Street, PO Box 830851
  Lincoln, NE  United States  68583-0851
• Managing Organizations:

  Mid-America Transportation Center

  University of Nebraska-Lincoln
  2200 Vine Street, PO Box 830851
  Lincoln, NE  United States  68583-0851
• Project Managers:

  Stearns, Amy

• Performing Organizations:

  University of Iowa, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

  3100 Seamans Center for the Engineering Arts and Sciences
  Iowa City, Iowa  United States  52242
• Principal Investigators:

  Ratner, Albert

• Start Date: 20181114
• Expected Completion Date: 20191231
• Actual Completion Date: 20191231
• USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program
• Source Data: RiP Project 91994-26

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Combustion; Crude oil; Fire prevention; Flammability; Polymers; Railroad safety; Railroad transportation; Splashing
• Subject Areas: Energy; Freight Transportation; Railroads; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01691940
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Mid-America Transportation Center
• Contract Numbers: 69A3551747107
• Files: UTC, RIP
• Created Date: Jan 31 2019 8:12AM