ASTM F1780-97(2010)
(Guide)Standard Guide for Estimating Oil Spill Recovery System Effectiveness
Standard Guide for Estimating Oil Spill Recovery System Effectiveness
ABSTRACT
This guide covers the key factors to consider in estimating the effectiveness of containment and recovery systems that may be used to assist in the control of oil spills on water. The purpose of this guide is to provide the user with information on assessing the effective use of spill-cleanup equipment. It is intended for use by those involved in planning for and responding to oil spills. In evaluating the effectiveness of containment and recovery systems used in response to oil spills, many factors need to be considered of which skimmer performance is but one. The objective of this guide is to describe a range of factors that must be considered in estimating recovery system effectiveness. Response strategies will depend to some extent on the type of spill. The spill scenario should be defined as to whether it is an instantaneous or continuous release, whether or not the spill has ceased flowing, and whether the spill is contained or uncontained. The following oil slick properties must be specified for the spill scenario: spill volume; area; slick thickness; slick viscosity; and emulsification.
SCOPE
1.1 This guide covers the key factors to consider in estimating the effectiveness of containment and recovery systems that may be used to assist in the control of oil spills on water.
1.2 The purpose of this guide is to provide the user with information on assessing the effective use of spill-cleanup equipment. It is intended for use by those involved in planning for and responding to oil spills.
1.3 Sections of this guide describe calculation procedures for estimating recovery system effectiveness. It should be understood that any such calculations cannot be expected to predict system performance, but are intended to provide a common basis for comparing system performance.
1.4 One of the main reasons that the calculation procedures cannot be used to predict system performance is that the analysis is sensitive to assumptions made on the properties of the oil slick, and particularly the changes in slick thickness and emulsification. It is emphasized that the purpose of this guide is not to provide a standard method for estimating slick property changes, but rather to provide a standard guide for using that information in comparing system performance.
1.5 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.
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Designation: F1780 − 97 (Reapproved 2010)
Standard Guide for
Estimating Oil Spill Recovery System Effectiveness
This standard is issued under the fixed designation F1780; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision.Anumber in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
1. Scope Uncontrolled Environments (Withdrawn 1997)
F1523Guide for Selection of Booms in Accordance With
1.1 This guide covers the key factors to consider in estimat-
Water Body Classifications
ing the effectiveness of containment and recovery systems that
may be used to assist in the control of oil spills on water.
3. Terminology
1.2 The purpose of this guide is to provide the user with
3.1 Definitions:
information on assessing the effective use of spill-cleanup
3.1.1 advancing skimmer, n—a skimmer that is designed to
equipment. It is intended for use by those involved in planning
be used to sweep out the spill area.
for and responding to oil spills.
3.1.1.1 Discussion—he skimmer may be independent or
1.3 Sections of this guide describe calculation procedures
maybeattachedtocontainmentboomtoincreasesweepwidth.
for estimating recovery system effectiveness. It should be
In some cases, the skimmer may not be attached to the boom
understood that any such calculations cannot be expected to
but is positioned in the pocket of the boom for skimming. As
predict system performance, but are intended to provide a
long as the skimmer operates while moving, it is considered to
common basis for comparing system performance.
be an advancing skimmer. Some skimmers are used in both an
1.4 One of the main reasons that the calculation procedures advancing and stationary mode. These are classified according
to their application.
cannot be used to predict system performance is that the
analysis is sensitive to assumptions made on the properties of
3.1.2 contained spills, n—a spill that is restricted from
theoilslick,andparticularlythechangesinslickthicknessand
spreading by containment boom or natural means.
emulsification. It is emphasized that the purpose of this guide
3.1.3 oil slick encounter rate, n—the volume of oil slick per
is not to provide a standard method for estimating slick
unittimeactivelyencounteredbytheoilspillrecoverysystem,
property changes, but rather to provide a standard guide for
and therefore available for containment and recovery (m /h).
using that information in comparing system performance.
3.1.4 oil spill recovery system, n—a combination of devices
1.5 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as
that operate together to recover spilled oil; the system would
standard. No other units of measurement are included in this
include some or all of the following components: (1) contain-
standard.
ment boom, (2) skimmer, (3) support vessels to deploy and
operate the boom and skimmer, (4) discharge/transfer pumps,
2. Referenced Documents
(5) oil/water separator, (6) temporary storage devices, and (7)
2.1 ASTM Standards:
shore based storage/disposal.
F625PracticeforClassifyingWaterBodiesforSpillControl
3.1.5 recovery system effectiveness, n—the volume of oil
Systems
that is removed from the environment by a given recovery
F631Guide for Collecting Skimmer Performance Data in
system in a given recovery period.
Controlled Environments
3.1.6 recovery period, n—the time available for recovery
F808Guide for Collecting Skimmer Performance Data in
systems to carry out cleanup operations.
3.1.7 response time, n—the time interval between the spill
incident and the start of cleanup operations.
This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee F20 on Hazardous
Substances and Oil Spill Responseand is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee
3.1.8 stationary skimmer, n—a skimmer that is intended to
F20.12 on Removal.
be used in a fixed location and is moved to new accumulations
CurrenteditionapprovedJune1,2010.PublishedJuly2010.Originallyapproved
of oil as skimming progresses.
in 1997. Last previous edition approved in 2002 as F1780–97 (2002). DOI:
10.1520/F1780-97R10.
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM
Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on The last approved version of this historical standard is referenced on
the ASTM website. www.astm.org.
Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959. United States
F1780 − 97 (2010)
3.1.8.1 Discussion—Somestationaryskimmersareusedina 5.2.1 Spill Volume—The total volume of oil spilled should
containment boom system that moves to collect oil, then be specified (m ). For spills that have not ceased, a spill rate
pausestopermittheskimmertorecovertheoilcollected.Even (m /h) should also be specified.
though this system moves periodically, the skimmer is still 5.2.2 Spill Area—The total spill area must be estimated in
ranked as a stationary skimmer because it operates when the order to calculate estimates of slick thickness. For uncontained
system is at rest. spills, the total spill area will increase over time; estimates can
bemadeusingcomputer-basedbehaviormodels.Alternatively,
3.1.9 uncontained spill, n—a spill that continues to spread
a simplified spreading model (Fig. 1: example spreading
after the recovery effort begins.
curves) can be used for first-order estimates.
5.2.3 Slick Thickness—Slickthicknessisusedinsubsequent
4. Summary of Guide
calculations of system encounter rate. Slick thickness is de-
4.1 In evaluating the effectiveness of containment and
fined as the overall average thickness of the slick, and is
recovery systems used in response to oil spills, many factors
estimated by dividing the spill volume by the total spill area at
need to be considered of which skimmer performance is but
any given time. For this calculation, spill volume should take
one.Theobjectiveofthisguideistodescribearangeoffactors
into account losses from the slick due to evaporation and
that must be considered in estimating recovery system effec-
natural dispersion, and increases to the slick volume due to
tiveness.
emulsification.Foruncontainedspills,naturalspreading forces
will cause the slick thickness to decline steadily during
4.2 In order to evaluate a recovery system, there are two
general types of information required, a set of information to recovery operations, and may result in a discontinuous slick
composed of windows and patches separated by sheen or open
describe the spill scenario against which the system will be
measured,andasetofinformationtodescribetheperformance water, or both. These factors should be considered in estimat-
characteristics of the recovery system. ing an overall average slick thickness.
5.2.4 Slick Viscosity—The viscosity of the spilled product is
4.3 Information on the spill is required to adequately define
used as a criteria to evaluate skimmer performance, as many
the problem and thereby provide a focus for the evaluation
skimming and pumping units will perform less effectively as
process. The spill should be defined in sufficient detail as to
viscosity increases. The viscosity of the spilled product will
allowanunambiguousinterpretationofitsbehaviorintermsof
generally increase through the recovery period as the oil is
the operating parameters of the countermeasures system. For
subjected to weathering and emulsification processes. The
certain purposes it may be desirable to develop a set of
viscosity should be specified as mm /s (cSt).
standard spill scenarios against which response system effec-
5.2.5 Emulsification—Emulsification is important as a spill
tiveness would be measured in a quantifiable manner.
process not only for its effect on oil viscosity but also because
4.4 The performance characteristics must be identified for
an emulsified oil represents a greater total volume of spill
therecoverysystemanditsvariouscomponents.Ingeneral,the
product that must be handled by skimming and pumping
informationrequirementswillincludetheratesorcapacities,or
systems. Many crude oils and refined products will tend to
both, the operating limitations, and the support requirements.
emulsify over the life of the spill depending on the properties
oftheoilandthelevelofwaveenergyinthespillenvironment.
4.5 This guide covers equipment-related factors that will
The degree of emulsification should be specified as the
affect recovery-system effectiveness.Additional important fac-
emulsified water content expressed as a percentage.
tors that are not covered in this guide but should be considered
5.2.5.1 It is recognized that emulsification rates for oil
as being critical to the success of a spill response include:
spilled in the marine environment will vary greatly depending
contingency planning; communications plans; government ap-
ontheoilproperties,spillsize,seaconditions,andtemperature.
provals; logistics of supporting manpower and equipment in
the field; and training and exercising of manpower.
5. Spill-related Information
5.1 Spill Type:
5.1.1 Response strategies will depend to some extent on the
typeofspill.Thespillscenarioshouldbedefinedastowhether
it is an instantaneous or continuous release, whether or not the
spill has ceased flowing, and whether the spill is contained or
uncontained.
5.2 Oil Slick Properties—The following oil slick properties
must be specified for the spill scenario. As some of these
properties may vary with time, it may be desirable to use
computer-based behavior models to produce spill property
information for the time period of interest. For certain appli-
cations it may be useful to produce standard sets of spill
property information that describe spills of interest as a
function of time. FIG. 1 Total Slick Area versus Time
F1780 − 97 (2010)
As noted in 1.4, it is not the intent of this guide to provide accurate navigation systems, or combination thereof.This may
standardratesofemulsificationforavarietyofoilproductsand be particularly applicable to spills in nearshore and protected
environmental conditions. For the purposes of comparing waters. In such cases a more liberal criteria for visibility
system performance, the data in Table 1 is provided as an limitations could be specified.
example of emulsification data for crude oil over a period of 5.3.5 Summary of Environmental Applicability Factors—
several days. Users of this guide are encouraged to use The wave exceedance, daylight, and visibility factors can be
alternative data that suits their particular oils and environmen- combined to produce an overall applicability factor that would
tal conditions. represent the percentage of time that a given recovery system
could be effectively used for a given spill scenario. For
5.3 Spill Environment:
example, for an environment that has waves less than 2 m for
5.3.1 Temperature—Water temperature is important as a
80% of the time, receives 14 h of daylight, and has visibility
parameter for estimating oil slick properties as well as the rate
greater than 500 m for 95% of the time (note: all figures
of change of those properties due to weathering and emulsifi-
should be specified for the time of year of interest), the
cation.(Itisassumedthatthetemperatureoftheoilslickisthe
environmental applicability would be estimated as:
same as the water on which the oil is floating.) Water
(0.80)×(14⁄24)×(0.95)=44%.
temperature is defined as the temperature of the upper surface
layer and should be specified as °C.
5.4 Spill Location:
5.3.1.1 Airtemperaturemaybeimportantasaparameterfor 5.4.1 Spill location should be specified with respect to
modifying or limiting the performance of skimming and
distanceofresponsebases,inordertoestimatetransittimesfor
pumping equipment, and should be specified as °C. the recovery systems, and with respect to shoreline, in order to
5.3.2 Wind/Waves—The wind and wave environment is
estimate the time available to respond prior to shoreline oiling.
important to the analysis for two reasons; first, as a parameter Spill location may also be of importance when evaluating
in estimating the behavior changes of the oil slick, and second,
recovery systems that include the shuttling of recovered oil
as a limiting factor for recovery operations. For the first between the recovery site and temporary storage locations, in
purpose, average wind speeds (km/h) should be specified. For
which case transit times may have to be deducted from the
the purpose of establishing criteria for limiting recovery on-site availability of storage systems.
operations, exceedance statistics (significant wave height)
should be specified for the spill location. Exceedance criteria 6. Recovery System Information
should be expressed as the percentage of time that conditions
6.1 Containment System Operating Factors:
willallowrecoveryoperationswithreferencetotheequipment
6.1.1 Encounter Rate—The encounter rate of the recovery
selected for the response and the environmental criteria listed
systemisaprimeconsiderationinevaluatingperformance.The
in Practice F625. For example, for spills in open water, wave 3
encounter rate is simply the rate (m /h) at which the system
exceedance data should be specified as the percentage of time
encounters the oil slick. The encounter rate includes three
thatwavesarelessthanorequalto2m,whichwouldrepresent
components: sweep width, encounter speed, and oil slick
the percentage of time that equipment specified for open water
thickness.
use would be applicable.
6.1.1.1 The sweep width (or swath) is the width intercepted
5.3.3 Current—The presence of water currents may influ-
byaboomincollectionmode,andiscalculatedbymultiplying
ence the selection of response strategies for a spill scenario,
the boom length by the gap ratio. Where the gap ratio is not
and may lead to a reduction in containment effectiveness in
specified, a value of ⁄3 should be used.
certain applications. The water currents, in m/s, should be
6.1.1.2 The encounter speed is the tow or current speed
specified for a given environment, with due regard to any local
relativetothecontainmentsystem.Ifnotspecified,amaximum
variations.
encounter speed of 0.5 m/s (1 knot) should be used.
5.3.4 Visibility—Duetoconcernswithworkersafetyinpoor
6.1.1.3 Encounter rate can be calculated as the product of
visibility,aswellastheinefficienciesrelatedtothemonitoring,
thesethreefactors,takingintoaccountconsistencyofunits.As
tracking, and containment of oil slicks during periods of poor
well, simple nomograms (Fig. 2) can be used to estimate
visibility, it is assumed in general that recovery operat
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