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Story summary
- Scientists showed a 17-foot fire whirl can incinerate oil twice as fast, cut soot emissions by 40 % and reach 95 % fuel-consumption efficiency.
- Dr. Elaine Oran, Dr. Qingsheng Wang and Dr. Michael Gollner built a 16-foot rig at Brayton Fire Training Field, burning a 1.5-meter oil pool.
- Researchers note that strong winds or thick oil destabilize the vortex, limiting deployment, and propose portable units to generate fire whirls for oil-spill cleanups.
