As we’ve reported in earlier articles, BP has been trying to contain a portion of the oil that’s been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico in what is being called the biggest oil spill in US history. Even though they’re collecting it, they aren’t sure what the heck to do with all of it. One idea? How about burning it using a device (very ironically) called an EverGreen Burner? We can’t say that we’ve done much research into setting petroleum on fire in the middle of the ocean, but it doesn’t sound like the greenest idea to us…
How would the EverGreen burner function? According to AP and Yahoo!, it “turns a flow of oil and gas into a vapor that is pushed out its 12 nozzles and burned without creating visible smoke.” The apparatus, which is made by Schlumberger Ltd. would be housed on a “burn rig” or floating platform on the ocean. Of the plan, BP spokesman Max McGahan said, “The burn rig will be moved away from the main leak site so the flames and heat do not endanger other vessels.”
Though EverGreen is marketed as being smokeless, environmental documents produced as part of an earlier proposal to use the rig in the North Sea said burning the oil posed “a moderate risk to the environment” that would release sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, methane and other chemicals. And Wilma Subra, a chemist with the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, says burning the oil raises new health risks. Yeah, we really hope BP changes their minds on this one, and starts using some of the other promising ideas we’ve seen that don’t involve a bunch of chemicals floating into the air we breathe.
Via Yahoo!
This is a really bad idea. Acrid oil smoke and respiratory problems are being reported as far away as the S. FL coast. More burning will degrade already bad air quality everywhere and cause a lot of lung illness as in the 1st Gulf War, 911 cleanup etc. If BP does not have the facilities, what were they planning to do with the oil produced after well completion??
Really. The burner is called “napalm”? How BP intend bury the oil uder water? By the Yellow Submarine?
Evergreen burners are used extensively all around the world. The reason they want to burn the oil in this case instead of going to a barge with it (as the Enterprise is currently doing) is because you’d then have two rigs and two barges operating closely to one another (within hundreds of feet). The Q4000′s DP isn’t up to snuff either.
I agree with WBrook whats the point of trying to salvage the oil from the leek if it’s not going to be used. Hell what money they do make off it might just pay off the fines and such the government is trying to impose on the accident.
This may be naive, but why couldn’t they offload the crude oil onto tanker vessels and sell it to a refinery? Isn’t that what the production rig would be doing right now if it hadn’t sank? The oil is very valuable, and to just burn it off seems like a waste.
Another efficient option is this polymer that Canadian company \’Great White\’ has developed: http://www.great-white.ca/
And how is burning the oil any different then driving a car. I love giant flame throwers
. Get that oil out of the water pronto. This really proves how stupid humans are. Just be careful not to set the ocean on fire, all though they would make great photos. LBW
Sounds great for tv-ratings actually.. and it’s something people would pay to watch.