MANIFESTS Genius project

Since the beginning of February, as part of the European project MANIFESTS Genius, Cedre has been conducting experimental testing on the evaporation process of volatile chemicals released on the surface of seawater (methanol, cyclohexane, butyl acetate, etc.) using two experimental systems specially developed at Cedre: the chemistry test bench and the wind tunnel. The chemistry test bench is used to analyse the competition between evaporation and dissolution of a chemical under controlled environmental conditions. It combines sensors for measuring concentrations in air with water sampling and analysis to simultaneously assess the processes at play. Meanwhile, the wind tunnel is used to study the influence of wind speed on the evaporation kinetics of a product. It provides key quantitative data: the evaporation rate per unit area. As well as enhancing knowledge of the behaviour of specific substances, this data is used as input to fine-tune risk prediction models, particularly those relating to the formation of toxic gas clouds or to fire and explosion risks.