Liquid purification or separation – With movable support – Float
Patent
1980-03-31
1983-03-22
Adee, John
Liquid purification or separation
With movable support
Float
2102424, 210924, E02B 1504
Patent
active
043774784
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for separating one liquid from another and more particularly is concerned with a method of an apparatus for removing oil from oil-contaminated water.
BACKGROUND ART
Some proposals for the removal of oil from the surface of the sea involve confinement of the oil by a floating barrier (otherwise called a boom) followed by separation of the oil confined by the barrier from the water on which the oil is floating. Such separation can be effected by, for example, skimming devices or by use of oleophilic hydrophobic materials. Floating barriers can become difficult to manipulate in rough seas and, as wave height increases, they lose their effectiveness in confining oil. Usually, these proposals involve the use of more than one self-propelled craft. Difficulties can be experienced in co-ordinating the activities of the craft. The expenses of recovering oil tends to increase with the numbers of craft used. Proposals for the removal of oil unconfined by barriers tend to involve devices which extend considerable distances over the water surfaces in order to provide a satisfactory rate of oil collection. One proposal is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,816 and takes the form of a "harvesting ring" and skimming device. An alternative method described in U.S. Pat. No. 3700593, involves deploying on the surface of the water a continuous loop of material which adsorbs oil in preference to water onto its surface and advancing the loop through a desorbing means. Skimmers operate far less effectively in heavy waves than in calm water. Continuous loops and harvesting rings which are big enough to deal with large oil slicks in the open sea are difficult to control unless the sea is comparatively calm. Often, more than one self-propelled craft is required.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The present invention seeks to provide a method of, and apparatus for, removing oil from oil-contaminated water which is operable in heavy seas where the prior art devices are not fully efficient, and which does not require more than one self-propelled craft for its efficient operation.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of removing oil from an oil-contaminated surface of a body of water utilizing a collapsible net of material which floats on the surface of the oil-contaminated water and which adsorbs oil in preference to water, comprising the steps of successively and reciprocatingly spreading the net in an outward movement from a storage disposition at an oil collection station to a floating disposition on the surface of the water where it adsorbs oil from the oil-contaminated water, gathering in the net from the floating disposition to the storage disposition in a return movement during which it passes through desorbing means at the oil collection station to remove oil from the net, and spreading the net again in a further outward movement from the storage disposition to the said or a further floating disposition for further adsorption of oil.
According to the second aspect of the present invention there is provided apparatus for removing oil from an oil-contaminated surface of a body of water comprising a collapsible net of material which floats on the surface of the oil-contaminated water and which adsorbs oil in preference to water, and means for successively and reciprocatingly advancing the net in an outward movement from the storage disposition at an oil collection station in which the net is gathered to a floating disposition on the surface of the water where it adsorbs oil from the oil-contaminated water, withdrawing the net from the floating disposition to the storage disposition in a return movement during which it passes through adsorbing means at the oil collection station to remove oil from the net, and advancing the net again in a further outward movement from the storage disposition to the said or a further floating disposition for further adsorption of oil.
Since the net of the present invention is easier to control
REFERENCES:
patent: 3523611 (1970-08-01), Fitzgerald
patent: 3679058 (1972-07-01), Smith
patent: 3686870 (1972-08-01), Blomberg
patent: 3695451 (1972-10-01), Schmidt, Jr.
patent: 3744638 (1973-07-01), Rhodes
patent: 4052313 (1977-10-01), Rolls
patent: 4146477 (1979-03-01), Challener
Beveridge Andrew J.
Challener Ronald T.
Rolls George H.
Stuart William
Adee John
Oil Mop (UK) Limited
Star Offshore Services Limited
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