Haibo Niu - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Haibo Niu
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
International Journal of Offshore and Polar Engineering
Expansion of oil pipelines in western Canada will significantly increase tanker traffic and the p... more Expansion of oil pipelines in western Canada will significantly increase tanker traffic and the probability of oil spills in the Salish Sea. To study the potential environmental effects from an oil spill, a state-of-the-art three-dimensional oil spill model was forced by a newly developed, high-resolution, hydrodynamic and atmospheric model, to simulate the fate and transport of three selected oils in the Salish Sea. A stochastic approach under a wide range of environmental conditions indicated that there is a very high probability for contamination of the Haro Strait area and the majority of the oil would stay on the surface and accumulate on the shoreline, rather than disperse into the water column.
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
The M/V Marathassa oil spill occurred on 8 April 2015 in the English Bay. In the present study, t... more The M/V Marathassa oil spill occurred on 8 April 2015 in the English Bay. In the present study, the trajectory and the transport mechanism of the spilled oil have been studied by using the three-dimensional and particle-based Oil Spill Contingency and Response (OSCAR) model forced by the Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM). FVCOM provided the hydrodynamic variables used by the oil spill model of OSCAR. The results showed that the fraction of the oil on the water surface and on the shoreline, as well as the amount of oil recovered were affected by the time of the initial release, the overall duration of the discharge, wind and recovery actions. The hindcast study of the M/V Marathassa oil spill showed that the likely starting time for the discharge was between 14:00 and 15:00, on 8 April 2015. The release may have lasted for a relatively long time (assumed to be 22 h in this study). The results of modeling in this study were found reasonably acceptable allowing for further ap...
Marine pollution bulletin, Jan 11, 2016
This study was aimed at testing the applicability of modified Weber number scaling with Alaska No... more This study was aimed at testing the applicability of modified Weber number scaling with Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude oil, and developing a Reynolds number scaling approach for oil droplet size prediction for high viscosity oils. Dispersant to oil ratio and empirical coefficients were also quantified. Finally, a two-step Rosin-Rammler scheme was introduced for the determination of droplet size distribution. This new approach appeared more advantageous in avoiding the inconsistency in interfacial tension measurements, and consequently delivered concise droplet size prediction. Calculated and observed data correlated well based on Reynolds number scaling. The relation indicated that chemical dispersant played an important role in reducing the droplet size of ANS under different seasonal conditions. The proposed Reynolds number scaling and two-step Rosin-Rammler approaches provide a concise, reliable way to predict droplet size distribution, supporting decision making in chemical disp...
OCEANS 2016 - Shanghai, 2016
2014 Oceans St John S, Sep 1, 2014
ABSTRACT
The International Conference on Marine and Freshwater Environments, Aug 4, 2014
The proposed Energy East pipeline project has raised concerns about potential oil spills in Saint... more The proposed Energy East pipeline project has raised concerns about potential oil spills in Saint John, New Brunswick, due to increased tanker traffic. While environmental conditions such as strong tide and current could pose challenges for using mechanical recovery methods if a spill occurs in the area, chemical dispersant could be an alternative oil spill countermeasure. However, the application of chemical dispersant in shallow water and costal zones remains an issue of debate. To study if chemical dispersant could be effective for potential oil spills in Saint John, a 3-dimensional model was used to simulate the transport of oil following a hypothetical release of 1000 m 3 Arabian Light crude under winter conditions. A stochastic approach was used to take into account the uncertainties of environmental inputs. The results show a significant reduction of oil ashore, and enhanced biodegradation with dispersant application, but these effects were accompanied by an increase of oil in sediment and water column, which is a concern. While the results are only conclusive for the selected scenarios of winter release, the method could be extended to other months and seasons of the year to support more detailed net environmental benefit analysis regarding dispersant application.
ABSTRACT The PROMISE model has been developed to supply a tool for probabilistic analysis of the ... more ABSTRACT The PROMISE model has been developed to supply a tool for probabilistic analysis of the dispersion of produced water in the marine environment. This paper describes the formulation of the composite model: 1) near field model; 2) wave effect model; 3) upstream intrusion and downstream control model; and 4) buoyant spreading and turbulent diffusion model. The simulation strategy using the model is presented together with results from a hypothetical case study.
Chirality, 2013
Enantioselective liquid-liquid extraction of zopiclone was conducted by employing a series of (R)... more Enantioselective liquid-liquid extraction of zopiclone was conducted by employing a series of (R)-mandelic acid esters as chiral extractants. The effects of concentration of extractant, concentration of zopiclone, type of organic solvent, pH value, and temperature on the extraction efficiency were investigated. (R)-o-chloromandelic acid propyl ester was demonstrated to be an efficient chiral extractant for zopiclone resolution with a maximum enantioselectivity of 1.6.
The PROMISE model has been developed to supply a tool for probabilistic analysis of the dispersio... more The PROMISE model has been developed to supply a tool for probabilistic analysis of the dispersion of produced water in the marine environment. This paper describes the formulation of the composite model: 1) near field model; 2) wave effect model; 3) upstream intrusion and downstream control model; and 4) buoyant spreading and turbulent diffusion model. The simulation strategy using the model is presented together with results from a hypothetical case study.
Water Quality Research Journal of Canada, 2015
EPL (Europhysics Letters), 2015
International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings, 2014
The expansion of offshore oil and gas and marine transport activities in the Arctic have raised t... more The expansion of offshore oil and gas and marine transport activities in the Arctic have raised the level of risk for an oil spill to occur in the Arctic region. Existing technologies for oil spill cleanup in ice-covered conditions are limited and there is a need for improved oil spill countermeasures for use under Arctic conditions. A recent field study has assessed a proposed oil spill response technique in ice-infested waters based on the application of fine minerals in a slurry with mixing by propeller-wash to promote the formation of oil-mineral aggregates (OMA). While it was verified in the experimental study that the dispersion was enhanced and mineral fine additions promoted habitat recovery by enhancing both the rate and extent of oil biodegradation, limited monitoring data provide little insights on the fate of dispersed oil after the response. To help understand the oil transport process following mineral treatment in icecovered conditions, mathematical modeling was used in this study to simulate the transport of OMA and calculate the mass balances of the spilled oil. To study the effects of ice and minerals on the fate and transport, the result was compared with scenarios without ice and without the addition of mineral fines. The results show general agreement between the modeling results and field observations, and further confirm the effectiveness and potential for using mineral treatment as a new oil spill counter-measure technology. This technique offers several operational advantages for use under Arctic conditions, including reduced number of personnel required for its application, lack of need for waste disposal sites, and cost effectiveness.
The PROMISE model has been developed to supply a tool for probabilistic analysis of the mixing of... more The PROMISE model has been developed to supply a tool for probabilistic analysis of the mixing of produced water in the marine environment. This paper describes the validation of the near field module of PROMISE against laboratory data and other models. The model predictions on buoyant jet trajectory, plume width and dilution have been checked against three types of buoyant jets from three different data sources. Statistics on the predicted versus measured values have been obtained. The results show that PROMISE can provide satisfactory prediction in all three parameters and the degree of bias is comparable to other models. The mean errors of PROMISE predictions are slightly smaller than other models but most of the ranges of its prediction errors are slightly wider than that of other models.
While extensive work has been conducted to study the formation of oil-mineral-aggregates (OMAs), ... more While extensive work has been conducted to study the formation of oil-mineral-aggregates (OMAs), very limited research has been performed to investigate the subsequent transport processes of OMAs in the marine environment. Recently, an integrated modelling methodology has been developed to study of the transport of OMAs and to evaluate their risks to the benthic organisms under waves and currents. This modeling tool has been applied in this paper to study the effects of waves and currents on the transport and potential risks of OMAs. A set of 12 simulations was performed under mean currents of 0.16, 0.33 and 0.49 m/s and significant wave heights of 0, 0.5, 2.5 and 5.0 m. The results show that wave can hinder the settling of OMAs but the current has little effects on the settling. Both wave and current significantly affect the transport and risks. The current effects can be observed over the entire simulation period but the wave effect is more important at the early stages of transport.
Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
International Journal of Offshore and Polar Engineering
Expansion of oil pipelines in western Canada will significantly increase tanker traffic and the p... more Expansion of oil pipelines in western Canada will significantly increase tanker traffic and the probability of oil spills in the Salish Sea. To study the potential environmental effects from an oil spill, a state-of-the-art three-dimensional oil spill model was forced by a newly developed, high-resolution, hydrodynamic and atmospheric model, to simulate the fate and transport of three selected oils in the Salish Sea. A stochastic approach under a wide range of environmental conditions indicated that there is a very high probability for contamination of the Haro Strait area and the majority of the oil would stay on the surface and accumulate on the shoreline, rather than disperse into the water column.
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
The M/V Marathassa oil spill occurred on 8 April 2015 in the English Bay. In the present study, t... more The M/V Marathassa oil spill occurred on 8 April 2015 in the English Bay. In the present study, the trajectory and the transport mechanism of the spilled oil have been studied by using the three-dimensional and particle-based Oil Spill Contingency and Response (OSCAR) model forced by the Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM). FVCOM provided the hydrodynamic variables used by the oil spill model of OSCAR. The results showed that the fraction of the oil on the water surface and on the shoreline, as well as the amount of oil recovered were affected by the time of the initial release, the overall duration of the discharge, wind and recovery actions. The hindcast study of the M/V Marathassa oil spill showed that the likely starting time for the discharge was between 14:00 and 15:00, on 8 April 2015. The release may have lasted for a relatively long time (assumed to be 22 h in this study). The results of modeling in this study were found reasonably acceptable allowing for further ap...
Marine pollution bulletin, Jan 11, 2016
This study was aimed at testing the applicability of modified Weber number scaling with Alaska No... more This study was aimed at testing the applicability of modified Weber number scaling with Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude oil, and developing a Reynolds number scaling approach for oil droplet size prediction for high viscosity oils. Dispersant to oil ratio and empirical coefficients were also quantified. Finally, a two-step Rosin-Rammler scheme was introduced for the determination of droplet size distribution. This new approach appeared more advantageous in avoiding the inconsistency in interfacial tension measurements, and consequently delivered concise droplet size prediction. Calculated and observed data correlated well based on Reynolds number scaling. The relation indicated that chemical dispersant played an important role in reducing the droplet size of ANS under different seasonal conditions. The proposed Reynolds number scaling and two-step Rosin-Rammler approaches provide a concise, reliable way to predict droplet size distribution, supporting decision making in chemical disp...
OCEANS 2016 - Shanghai, 2016
2014 Oceans St John S, Sep 1, 2014
ABSTRACT
The International Conference on Marine and Freshwater Environments, Aug 4, 2014
The proposed Energy East pipeline project has raised concerns about potential oil spills in Saint... more The proposed Energy East pipeline project has raised concerns about potential oil spills in Saint John, New Brunswick, due to increased tanker traffic. While environmental conditions such as strong tide and current could pose challenges for using mechanical recovery methods if a spill occurs in the area, chemical dispersant could be an alternative oil spill countermeasure. However, the application of chemical dispersant in shallow water and costal zones remains an issue of debate. To study if chemical dispersant could be effective for potential oil spills in Saint John, a 3-dimensional model was used to simulate the transport of oil following a hypothetical release of 1000 m 3 Arabian Light crude under winter conditions. A stochastic approach was used to take into account the uncertainties of environmental inputs. The results show a significant reduction of oil ashore, and enhanced biodegradation with dispersant application, but these effects were accompanied by an increase of oil in sediment and water column, which is a concern. While the results are only conclusive for the selected scenarios of winter release, the method could be extended to other months and seasons of the year to support more detailed net environmental benefit analysis regarding dispersant application.
ABSTRACT The PROMISE model has been developed to supply a tool for probabilistic analysis of the ... more ABSTRACT The PROMISE model has been developed to supply a tool for probabilistic analysis of the dispersion of produced water in the marine environment. This paper describes the formulation of the composite model: 1) near field model; 2) wave effect model; 3) upstream intrusion and downstream control model; and 4) buoyant spreading and turbulent diffusion model. The simulation strategy using the model is presented together with results from a hypothetical case study.
Chirality, 2013
Enantioselective liquid-liquid extraction of zopiclone was conducted by employing a series of (R)... more Enantioselective liquid-liquid extraction of zopiclone was conducted by employing a series of (R)-mandelic acid esters as chiral extractants. The effects of concentration of extractant, concentration of zopiclone, type of organic solvent, pH value, and temperature on the extraction efficiency were investigated. (R)-o-chloromandelic acid propyl ester was demonstrated to be an efficient chiral extractant for zopiclone resolution with a maximum enantioselectivity of 1.6.
The PROMISE model has been developed to supply a tool for probabilistic analysis of the dispersio... more The PROMISE model has been developed to supply a tool for probabilistic analysis of the dispersion of produced water in the marine environment. This paper describes the formulation of the composite model: 1) near field model; 2) wave effect model; 3) upstream intrusion and downstream control model; and 4) buoyant spreading and turbulent diffusion model. The simulation strategy using the model is presented together with results from a hypothetical case study.
Water Quality Research Journal of Canada, 2015
EPL (Europhysics Letters), 2015
International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings, 2014
The expansion of offshore oil and gas and marine transport activities in the Arctic have raised t... more The expansion of offshore oil and gas and marine transport activities in the Arctic have raised the level of risk for an oil spill to occur in the Arctic region. Existing technologies for oil spill cleanup in ice-covered conditions are limited and there is a need for improved oil spill countermeasures for use under Arctic conditions. A recent field study has assessed a proposed oil spill response technique in ice-infested waters based on the application of fine minerals in a slurry with mixing by propeller-wash to promote the formation of oil-mineral aggregates (OMA). While it was verified in the experimental study that the dispersion was enhanced and mineral fine additions promoted habitat recovery by enhancing both the rate and extent of oil biodegradation, limited monitoring data provide little insights on the fate of dispersed oil after the response. To help understand the oil transport process following mineral treatment in icecovered conditions, mathematical modeling was used in this study to simulate the transport of OMA and calculate the mass balances of the spilled oil. To study the effects of ice and minerals on the fate and transport, the result was compared with scenarios without ice and without the addition of mineral fines. The results show general agreement between the modeling results and field observations, and further confirm the effectiveness and potential for using mineral treatment as a new oil spill counter-measure technology. This technique offers several operational advantages for use under Arctic conditions, including reduced number of personnel required for its application, lack of need for waste disposal sites, and cost effectiveness.
The PROMISE model has been developed to supply a tool for probabilistic analysis of the mixing of... more The PROMISE model has been developed to supply a tool for probabilistic analysis of the mixing of produced water in the marine environment. This paper describes the validation of the near field module of PROMISE against laboratory data and other models. The model predictions on buoyant jet trajectory, plume width and dilution have been checked against three types of buoyant jets from three different data sources. Statistics on the predicted versus measured values have been obtained. The results show that PROMISE can provide satisfactory prediction in all three parameters and the degree of bias is comparable to other models. The mean errors of PROMISE predictions are slightly smaller than other models but most of the ranges of its prediction errors are slightly wider than that of other models.
While extensive work has been conducted to study the formation of oil-mineral-aggregates (OMAs), ... more While extensive work has been conducted to study the formation of oil-mineral-aggregates (OMAs), very limited research has been performed to investigate the subsequent transport processes of OMAs in the marine environment. Recently, an integrated modelling methodology has been developed to study of the transport of OMAs and to evaluate their risks to the benthic organisms under waves and currents. This modeling tool has been applied in this paper to study the effects of waves and currents on the transport and potential risks of OMAs. A set of 12 simulations was performed under mean currents of 0.16, 0.33 and 0.49 m/s and significant wave heights of 0, 0.5, 2.5 and 5.0 m. The results show that wave can hinder the settling of OMAs but the current has little effects on the settling. Both wave and current significantly affect the transport and risks. The current effects can be observed over the entire simulation period but the wave effect is more important at the early stages of transport.