An oil boom is a device that uses a floating body with a skirt under the water to confine oil and dirt on the surface to prevent it from spreading. It is often used in port oil spill accidents. It is composed of inflatable floats, skirts, tension belts, counterweight chains, anchors, etc., fixed with anchors around the oily sewage surface that needs to be fenced, and can be divided into marine type, offshore type, port type, etc. according to the area of use , And have corresponding technical parameters.

The functions of oil booms can be summarized as three functions: containment and concentration, oil spill diversion and prevention of potential oil spills.

Oil spill containment and concentration

After an oil spill, the oil will spread and drift rapidly under the influence of tide, wind and other external factors, forming a larger pollution area. When oil spills occur in open waters, nearshore waters or ports, deploy oil booms in time to contain the spreading oil in time. By dragging the oil booms or reducing the scope of the enclosure, the oil film can be concentrated to a smaller area. Recycling within the scope can not only prevent the spread of oil spill, but also increase the thickness of the oil film to facilitate recycling or other treatments.

Spill diversion

After an oil spill occurs, under the influence of external factors, the spilled oil will drift and spread arbitrarily, in order to facilitate the recovery operation or to divert the spilled oil to the designated location, especially in the river or nearshore areas with turbulent water, in order to effectively control The flow direction of the spilled oil is convenient for recovery or to prevent the spilled oil from entering the sensitive area. The oil boom is usually used for external defense at a set angle. There are generally two situations for oil spill diversion. One is to use oil booms for long-term deployment, generally placed at water intakes and power plants, etc.; the other is to deploy oil booms near reefs, mainly when oil spills occur, which are temporarily deployed according to specific conditions. Put the oil boom to realize the oil spill diversion, and lead the spilled oil to the easy recovery area or other non-sensitive resource areas.

Prevent potential oil spills

Preventing potential oil spills usually refers to the deployment of oil booms in advance for oil spill prevention and control in places where oil spills may occur or where there is a risk of oil spills. In this way, when an oil spill actually occurs, it can prevent the spill from spreading, and take recovery measures to recover the spilled oil in time. When a ship is carrying out oil loading and unloading operations at a wharf or carrying out oil transfers at an anchorage, it is usually necessary to deploy oil booms in advance in accordance with the regulations for control; sometimes, for ships that are stranded or sunk before salvage Proper containment and control are carried out in actual conditions.