Liquid purification or separation – Processes – Including controlling process in response to a sensed condition
Patent
1992-12-21
1994-11-22
Drodge, Joseph W.
Liquid purification or separation
Processes
Including controlling process in response to a sensed condition
210 961, 2102571, 2105122, 210788, 2102423, B01D 1712, B01D 17038
Patent
active
053666410
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to processes and systems for separating oil and water, and more particularly, to oil spill recovery systems.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
Commercial oil spill recovery skimmers can recover a fluid stream which typically comprises ten percent by volume oil and water emulsion and ninety percent by volume unwanted free sea water. The oil and water emulsion itself typically contains at least fifty percent, and perhaps as much as ninety percent, water. The condition of the recovered fluid varies greatly depending on the thickness of the oil layer, the state of the seas, the time the spill has weathered, etc. In a typical oil spill recovery vessel having no oil and water separation system located on site all of the recovered fluid is stored in the vessel. Thus the stored fluid may contain up to ninety-nine percent by volume water. If the oil and water could be efficiently separated on site so that the water or a large portion thereof could be returned to the sea and only the recovered oil stored, the oil spill recovery vessels' ability to remain on site and operate for long periods of time could be greatly extended.
The prior art does include systems which have been proposed for the on-site separation of oil and water from recovered oil spill fluids.
One system proposed by Jastram-Werke GmbH of Hamburg, Germany, known as the ORAS system uses an oil/water separator made up of a system of weirs and gates.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,743,095 to Mensing et al. proposes the use of a vortex separator to separate oil from an oil/water mixture which results from oil spills on a body of water.
Robertson et al., "HYDROCYCLONE FOR THE TREATMENT OF OIL-SPILL EMULSIONS", Paper F3 presented at the Second International Conference on Hydrocyclones at Bath, England, Sep. 19-21, 1984, discusses the use of hydrocyclones for the treatment of oil spill emulsions. It deals primarily with the breaking down of the emulsion to remove a portion of the water content thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides an oil spill recovery system utilizing a novel combination of a first hydrocyclone separator hydrocyclone followed by a second hydrocyclone separator, the combination of which provides a highly efficient separation of clean water which can be returned to the sea thus maximizing the oil concentration in the fluids which must be stored on the recovery vessel.
A skimmer or other conventional oil spill recovery means recovers from the sea a recovered fluid containing oil and water. This recovered fluid is conducted to a floating vessel floating on the body of water.
A hydrocyclone system located on the floating vessel includes a first hydrocyclone separator and a second hydrocyclone separator, In the first hydrocyclone separator, the recovered fluid is separated into a first underflow stream containing primarily free water, and a first overflow stream which primarily contains the oil and water emulsion recovered from the sea.
The first underflow stream, containing primarily free water with some free oil dispersed therein, then may run through the second hydrocyclone separator which separates that stream into a second underflow stream which is clean water which can be returned to the sea, and a second overflow stream which contains the remaining oil which was removed from the free water.
The first overflow stream containing the oil and water emulsion is directed to ship's storage where it is held until it is subsequently conveyed to an on-shore processing facility. The second overflow stream may also be directed to ship's storage or it may be recycled.
In one embodiment, the system described above takes the recovered fluid from the sea and sends it directly to the first hydrocyclone separator without any substantial gravity separation being permitted. In a second embodiment, the recovered fluid is first directed to ship's prestorage wherein some gravity separation is permitted, and then a water leg from the prestorage is pumped to
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Exhibit A-A brochure illustrating a Skim-pak.TM. remote floating skimmer available from the Douglas Engineering Division of U.S. Hydrex, Inc., of Walnut Creek, California (undated but admitted to be prior art).
Exhibit B-A brochure of Acme Products Co., of Tulsa, Oklahoma (undated but admitted to be prior art).
Exhibit C-A brochure of Kepner Plastics Fabricators, Inc. of Torrance, California (undated but admitted to be prior art).
Exhibit D-Publication illustrating a skimmer ship (undated but admitted to be prior art).
Exhibit E-Brochure of Douglas Engineering Division of U.S. Hydrex, Inc. (undated but admitted to be prior art).
Hadfield David A.
Schubert Mark F.
Conoco Specialty Products Inc.
Drodge Joseph W.
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