COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND — Researchers discover new “blue whirl” flame that they believe could be the key to cleaning up oil spills.
The flame is a blue-colored fire tornado found by a team of researchers in the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland. Named the “blue whirl,” the tornado in controlled conditions could be the most efficient way to burn hydrocarbon fuel.
Unlike yellow flames, a blue flame is a sign of a more complete, near-perfect burn with far fewer emissions.
A fire tornado that burns in a blue-violet color has never been created before, but now researchers know how to start one. In a round glass tank with slits in its side, researchers placed a liquid fuel, n-heptane, onto a pool of water. When lit, the fire sucks out the oxygen in the air, as slits in the tank cause the fire to whirl; this creates a normal, yellow-burning fire tornado. To tame the yellow fire tornado, the engineers injected a slow, steady stream of fuel into it from below. And as the flame feeds off the fuel, it shrinks and burns blue.
While there is still much to be learned about the flame, researchers did note they were able to maintain the flame for extended periods. The blue whirl offers an more efficient option for burning oil off water’s surface.
