A Proposed New Laboratory Protocol for Dispersant Effectiveness Testing Adapted for Subsea Dispersant Injection

Abstract

The main objective of this study is to develop a new protocol for bench-scale dispersant effectiveness testing adapted for subsea dispersants injection (SSDI). The new approach includes turbulence conditions, dispersant injection techniques and quantification of effectiveness, more representative for a SSDI operation. Results from the new system are compared to dispersant effectiveness measured with established laboratory methods, used for screening dispersants for surface application. The most significant result is that the dispersant ranking obtained with the new test relevant for subsea releases was very different compared to the ranking obtained by screening methods used for surface application of dispersants. This strongly indicates that existing standard methods for dispersant effectiveness testing designed for simulating conditions relevant for surface application of dispersants, are less relevant for SSDI effectiveness testing and justify the need for a more relevant method. Such a Dispersant Injection Effectiveness Test (DIET) is suggested and documented in this study