The 11th edition of the World Catalog includes many changes in the text that precedes the data listings in each chapter, but very few changes in the way in that data are recorded. As in recent editions, data reporting follows the format and definitions of American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standards as much as possible. Several new Standards have been approved or modified since the previous edition and these are referred to where appropriate.

Perhaps the biggest changes that have occurred in the most recent editions of the Catalog have been in the oil spill response industry. Manufacturing and procurement of response equipment peaked in the early 1990's. Since then there has been a retrenchment in both manufacturing and procurement, and some manufacturers have withdrawn their oil spill response products from the market entirely. Others have cut back and offer fewer products. Finally, there has also been consolidation, with several companies combining to provide a broader range of services.

Here are some important things to look for in the new edition.

Containment Boom

Boom Types: We are continuing to use Fire-resistant, Tidal Seal, and Permanent as standard boom definitions. The latter is designed for long-term deployment in the water, and has also attracted interest as a useful product for port security. The term Fireproof has been dropped because most products are degraded somewhat as a result of one or more burning operations. All three types are listed in the indices of special-purpose booms.

Boom Connectors: What was termed the Quick (Z) connector is now referred to as the ASTM connector because now virtually all "Z" type connectors are made to the ASTM Standard. An additional ASTM connector, the ASTM Slide Connector is also referred to.

Boom ancillaries: New to this edition, have a look at our spec’s on boom reels and power packs. We have put the latter into the “BOOM” section; although they can be used to drive skimmers and pumps they also can be used to drive Boom Reels.

Herding agents: A lot of R&D has been devoted to this topic over the most recent decade, mainly related to oil among drift ice but also in open water.

This edition has updated summaries of recent research and development, including research on fast-water containment, fire-resistant boom testing, experiments to refine knowledge on the towing forces on booms, heavy oil containment, and methods of measuring buoyancy-to-weight ratio. There is also a description of some recent equipment advances relating to boom retrieval and equipment for vessel pre-booming.

Skimmers

This section describes skimmer types, how they are used, and the level of performance that can be expected of each type. Skimmer definitions follow those contained in ASTM Standard F1178, which was itself adapted from the definitions in recent editions of the World Catalog. Note that the names of some skimmer types have changed to correspond to the ASTM definitions. Check this in Section 2 of the Skimmer Chapter.

Classifying skimmers according to their use in Calm Water, Protected Water, and Open Water has always been a difficult task since there are no exact rules as there are for containment booms. To help solve this problem, we have completed a very extensive review of how skimmers have been classified and how they should be classified. Although we have not developed precise rules that can exactly classify every device, we have developed tables that describe every skimmer type listed in the Catalog. We are not publishing the selection criteria, but they are available should manufacturers and interested users wish to discuss them.

Some recent developments in skimmers are summarized, including development of oil-in-ice skimmers, testing to optimize oleophilic surfaces, and ASTM work on developing a standard method of measuring a skimmer’s nameplate recovery rate.

Sorbents

Sorbents data sheets have remained the same as before, but we have added summaries of various sorbents tests. Environment Canada's Emergencies Engineering Division (EED) and the Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC) joined in a project to study the relationship between oil sorbent material and oil viscosity as they relate to oil pick-up ratios. Because of the significance of this material, we have included a set of tables summarizing these tests results. We have also established a standard for rating the test results. These tables list products as Good, Fair, or Poor according to their sorbency ratio being >10, 5 to 10, or <5. This should help the user choose products from among those tested.

Environment Canada has produced a database of sorbent performance and published it on the web. The database contains the testing parameters, performance data pertaining to each sorbent, and manufacturer or distributor contact information.

Separators

Chapter 4 contains a summary of the MSRC separator tests, which show a substantial improvement in separator technology as applied to oil spill response. A summary of the final report of U.S. Coast Guard tests of centrifugal separators is also included. Chapter 4 also refers to recent research on decanting of recovered oil spill fluids, discussed more thoroughly in Appendix D.

Pumps

ASTM Committee F-20 developed and approved a Standard for testing pumps for use in oil spill response operations, F1607. The pump data sheets follow the information contained in this Standard. Pumps data sheets also include listings of pumps that are particularly well suited to handling the highly viscous, emulsified product found at many spill sites.

There have been few pump tests that were specifically related to the issues involved in spill response. For that reason, we have retained the descriptions of significant pump tests that were performed in the late 1970’s and the 1980’s. We have also updated this with recent work on pumping viscous emulsions by Alaska Clean Seas, and with a summary of US Coast Guard work in the area of pumping highly viscous oils – up to 500,000 cSt – using a variety of flow-enhancement techniques.

Beach Cleaners

Chapter 6 contains a review of the main types of equipment that can be used to clean oiled shorelines. The emerging area of in-situ treatments is also summarized. The Chapter also notes a number of good reference documents, some of which are available on the web.

Dispersant Application Equipment

Chapter 7 contains a good overview of how dispersants work, and describes the many factors that determine their effectiveness. A number of important field and laboratory experiments are summarized in this regard. Several options for dispersant effectiveness testing are also described, including meso-scale lab tests and full-scale testing at Ohmsett, which is a recently developed capability at that facility. Recent testing is summarized regarding on dispersant effectiveness in cold water conditions, with heavy oils, and in low seas states.

There is also a description of dispersant application equipment and techniques, and a discussion of the relative merits of airborne and vessel-based application systems.

Temporary Storage of Recovered Oil

This Chapter includes a summary of the criteria to be considered when selecting a storage device, and highlights the advantages and disadvantages of the main options. Some recent test results are also summarized.

Other developments in temporary storage technology include portable barges that are used by several spill response organization such as the Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC), Clean Seas in Carpinteria, California, and Alaska Clean Seas. Chapter 8 contains a description of these systems.

Appendix A - In-Situ Burning

This edition of the Catalog features a good overview of the science, technology, operational capabilities and limitations, and ecological consequences of in-situ burning as a countermeasure for oil spills on water. An internationally recognized expert in the field, Ian Buist of SL Ross Environmental Research, wrote this chapter.

Appendix B - Forces on a Boom

Equations in earlier editions have been revised based on recent field and experimental work in this area. Simple to use formulae and graphs are provided.

Appendix C - Spill Encounter Rate

This provides a complete explanation of how to apply this concept to spill response problems. This Appendix has been revised and updated.

Appendix D – Decanting

This gives a thorough description of recent and ongoing research in this area, and has simple-to-use guidelines for decanting of oil spill fluids.

Appendix E – Unit Conversions

This is a list of unit conversions that we have found to be useful in the field of oil spill response.

Conclusion

Manufacturer response in reporting data for the Catalog continues to improve. We have done everything we can to make this Catalog the most complete and accurate yet. We feel an increasing sense of duty to do this because the Catalog has become an important primary reference for regulatory agencies in approving contingency plans and other necessary documents and applications. With this in mind, we continue to strive to make the data as accurate and complete as possible.

We greatly appreciate the support of Catalog users. The World Catalog is a highly specialized publication designed for a limited community. Our only revenue is from paid advertising and purchases of new books. As a result, the Catalog can only continue when supported its users. We hope that you will agree that this is an important reference for the spill response community, and one that deserves to continue to be published on a regular basis. Your feedback on any aspect of the World Catalog will be appreciated.

OilSpillEquipment.com

You can also refer to our newly-developed website, OilSpillEquipment.com. It will be a work in progress for some time, but we hope to use it to complement the Catalog with information on new equipment developments, featured equipment from new suppliers, important events in the spill response community, and archival data on equipment still in use but not actively marketed and therefore not appearing in recent editions of the Catalog. We also plan to eventually have the entire catalog on the web, open to all who purchase the Catalog. We would appreciate your feedback on the website as well.