FACTORS AFFECTING THE RATE OF EVAPORATION OF THE OIL SPILLED ON LAND DURING THE GULF-WAR

One of the major concerns after the Iraqi invasion to Kuwait is the po ssibility of air pollution due to massive oil spillage on land and wat er. Experimental studies were performed to determine factors affecting the rate of evaporation of two different crude oils of API 28 & 38 on a laboratory scale. Factors like API, environmental temperature, dept h of the crude oil, exposed surface area and wind speed on the rate of evaporation of these crude is reported. predetermined experiments wer e carried out to study the above factors. Quantitative estimation of e ach component in the crude, ranging from C5 to C16 was done. Based on these estimations, the mole fraction of each component remaining with time was obtained. An analysis of different factors, based on the expe rimental data indicate that surface area and API of the crude oil has no influence on the rate of evaporation.