Summary
The authors, Grigoriev and Grigorieva (2009) in this journal paper, attempts to address a fundamental design problem of long-distance oil pipelines which is that of optimal valve location. In this paper, the author discusses in detail the variables and considerations involved in calculations of the optimum valve distances and locations for purposes of mitigating environmental impacts emanating from accidental oil spillages.
One design feature that is well elaborated in this paper is that of automatic valve shatter which works by blocking both air entry and by extension potential leakage sites in case of any accidental depressurization on the pipeline, thus preventing oil spill. So by using valves at optimal distances, the volume of possible oil spills along any area of the pipeline is greatly controlled since the amount of spillage is dependent on the distance between any two valves.
Secondly, the authors advance a model that can be used to determine potential environmental impact caused by oil spillages in a given area by using two variables of; the volume of oil spilt and ecological characteristics of the area. So by combining both sets of data, i.e. pipeline distance, number of valves and ecological characteristics of the area, then the optimal valve location along the pipeline that has the least environmental damage can be calculated. To demonstrate this, the paper discusses the Russian oil pipeline Construction as a case study which was developed by the State Scientific Research Institute of Oil Transport (1972) (Grigoriev and Grigorieva, 2009).
In this particular case study, the authors discuss the justification of putting more valves in a particular stretch of 35 km that had more streams running along with it compared to the last 20 km which had less of these streams and consequently fewer valves.
This way, potential environmental damage is greatly mitigated, along with areas that are highly susceptible to oil spillages. Indeed, this model demonstrates the efficacy of this approach in mitigating the impact resulting from accidental oil spillages given that optimal location of the valve along the pipeline is directly correlated with the expected ecological damage for specific areas. Indeed statistical analysis of the outputs generated by this model indicates that this approach can reduce potential environmental damage at any given location by as much as 37%, and by much more percentage overall as claimed by the authors (Grigoriev and Grigorieva, 2009).
Evaluation of source
The date of publication of this journal paper indicates that it is recent and was written in 2009; this implies that the paper discusses recent technological advances that are being applied in the management of oil spillages such as this of automatic valve shutter as we have seen. Secondly, reviews of the paper authors indicate that they are well versed on the subjects themselves given their education backgrounds and possibly experience working in this field. Thirdly, the topic of this paper is a subject that relates directly with my study interests and which happens to be published in the journal of “Computers & Industrial Engineering” which is peer-reviewed and thus reliable as a credible source.
It is based on this analysis that I find this article both informative and valuable that will be critical to me throughout this semester as I embark on my research on the topic of environmental damages in long pipelines and mitigation measures.
Reference
Grigoriev, A., & Grigorieva, N. V. (2009). The valve location problem: Minimizing environmental damage of a spill in long oil pipelines. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 57(3): 976-982.