Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63B—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING 
  • B63B35/00—Vessels or similar floating structures specially adapted for specific purposes and not otherwise provided for
  • B63B35/32—Vessels or similar floating structures specially adapted for specific purposes and not otherwise provided for for collecting pollution from open water
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
  • E02B—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
  • E02B15/00—Cleaning or keeping clear the surface of open water; Apparatus therefor
  • E02B15/04—Devices for cleaning or keeping clear the surface of open water from oil or like floating materials by separating or removing these materials
  • E02B15/10—Devices for removing the material from the surface
  • E02B15/103—Rotary drums
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E02—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; SOIL SHIFTING
  • E02B—HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING
  • E02B15/00—Cleaning or keeping clear the surface of open water; Apparatus therefor
  • E02B15/04—Devices for cleaning or keeping clear the surface of open water from oil or like floating materials by separating or removing these materials
  • E02B15/10—Devices for removing the material from the surface
  • E02B15/104—Conveyors; Paddle wheels; Endless belts

Definitions

• the invention relates to a method for separating liqui substances from one another with a mechanical collecting appa ⁇ ratus and especially for the collection of a relativel lighter liquid from the surface of a relatively heavier base liquid.
• the invention also relates to an apparatus for car ⁇ rying out the said method.
• One specific object of the invention is to remove oil that has fallen into water and is floating on the surface of the water or has emulsified into the surface layer of the water, and especially to exploit for this purpose the behavioral characteristics of oil and water.
• the invention is " characterized in that which is disclosed in the characterizing part of the appended claims.
• a collecting unit is held partly submerged in a liquid mixture and the surface of the collecting unit is brought at the layer of the substance to be collected to move deeper relative to the surface of the base liquid towards the base liquid and preferably in a rolling motion-like contact with the film or emulsion of the liquid to be collected.
• the substance layer by the collecting unit remains in that case essentially integral.
• the surface of the collecting unit presses the substance to be collected down into the base liquid, at which the buoyancy within the base liquid, or the buoyancy and suitably the centrifugal and/or impulse action caused by the movement of the collecting unit will make the substance to be collected adhere to the surfac of the collecting unit.
• the substance that has adhered to th surface of the unit is then removed above the surface of th base liquid.
• the invention thus exploits in the separation an in the collection especially the buoyancy acting in the bas liquid and suitably the compacting effect caused by th centrifugal force
• the lighter substanc layer is compressed as an essentially unbroken substanc mattress to the adhesion surface of the collecting unit an moves with the suitably continuous motion of the adhesion sur ⁇ face up above the liquids.
• the apparatus for the implementation of the method of the invention is characterized in that it comprises a collecting unit which is to be partly submerged into the liquid mixture, said unit most preferably comprising an essentially smooth sur ⁇ face continuously pressing into the liquid mixture, preferably for holding the integral liquid layer and pressing it into the base liquid.
• the apparatus suitably comprises means for promoting the coherence and adherence of the substance layer, as well as means for the suitably continuous removal above the surface of the base liquid of the substance that has adhered to the adhesion surface.
• a buoyancy ac ⁇ cording to the specific gravities of the liquids always acts upon the film or emulsion formed by the lighter liquid.
• the centrifugal force often acts also, attempting to bring the lighter liquid, like oil or its emulsion to an inner path relative to the heavier liquid, like water.
• the impulse caused by the movement of the collecting unit compacts the substance to be collected and presses the substance mattress so that it adheres to the adhesion surface. Buoyancy separately, or buoyancy combined with the centrifugal force and/or with the impulse will make the oil film or oil emulsion press to the surface of the collecting unit, so that oil or enriched emulsion adheres to the unit.
• the invention exploits the artificially intensified diffe ⁇ rences in the physical characteristics of the mixed liquids to be separated and especially their differences in density.
• Figure 1 shows the collection unit according to one embodiment of the invention
• Figure 2 shows an overall diagram of the arrangement of the apparatus according to the invention on a collecting vessel
• Figure 3 shows an alternative fastening arrangement
• Figure 4 shows an alternative to the embodiment shown in figure 1
• Figure 5 shows the adhesion surface of the cylinder structure according to one embodiment of the invention
• Figure 6 shows the achieved collecting capacity during test I as a function of the rotation speed of the cylinder used as a collecting unit
• Figure 7 shows the results of test I expressed as the col ⁇ lecting capacity per revolution
• Figure 8 shows the results of test II in the same way as in figure 6
• Figure 9 shows correspondingly the results of test II in the same way as in figure 7.
• the collecting unit 1 is a cylinder or a roller 2, which has an essentially smooth adhesion surface 3.
• Roller 2 is partly submerged below the boundary surface 6 between the base liquid 4 and the liquid 5 to be collected and rotates submerged in the base liquid in the direction indicated by the curved arrow, in which case the direction of the forward movement of the apparatus is shown by the thick arrow.
• the roller 2 rotates the deposit 5 of the liquid to be collected attaches to the adhesion surface 3, which pulls it along downward in the form of the layer 7.
• the buoyancy in accordance to the dif ⁇ ference in the specific gravities of the liquids 4 and 5 acts at submerging simultaneously pressing the layer 7 to attach firmly to the adhesion surface 3 of the roller 2, where the layer 7 remains attached also as the adhesion surface 3 at the further rotation of the roller 2 rises above the liquids 4 and
• the adhesion surface of roller 2 is being scraped by a fixed blade unit 8, which detaches the liquid layer adhered to the adhesion surface 3 " from surface 3 at a point which is suitable in view of the collection and which is above the liquids 4 and 5.
• a screw conveyor 9 is installed in connection to blade 8 to transport the detached substance, and in another embodiment the screw conveyor 9 itself functions as a scraper.
• the " apparatus according to the invention is arranged between the collecting vessel 10 and a separate bearing pontoon 11.
• the direction of movement of the entire apparatus or the direction of the collection is indicated by the thick arrow.
• an essentially horizontal roller 2 is shown as the collecting unit 1, the surface of the roller rotating in the direction indicated by the curved arrow in such a way, that the speed of the motion of the surface 3 of roller 2 is adjustable.
• one essential factor in connection to the operating efficiency is the posi ⁇ tion of the collecting unit and especially the position of the adhesion surface 3 relative to the mattress formed by the substance 5 to be collected.
• the apparatus should therefore preferably have an adjustment possibility, with which specifi ⁇ cally the level of the apparatus can be changed during the collection.
• the angle of incidence ⁇ between the adhesion surface 3 and surface 6 of the base substance 4 is determined on the basis of the characteristics of the substance 5 to be collected and partly also on the characteristics of the adhesion surface.
• the advantageous angle of incidence varies considerably.
• the most advantageous angle of incidence ⁇ is, however, less than 90 * .
• the apparatus thus suitably com ⁇ prises a lifting apparatus, which can move the collecting unit vertically in such a way, that a suitable operating depth h and/or angle of incidence ⁇ can be achieved.
• One embodiment of the invention utilizes pontoons for the level adjustment of the collecting unit instead of a stiffly operating hold and control mechanism.
• the collecting unit 1 itself is then as such floating, whereupon the appara ⁇ tus can comprise even an independent vessel, equipped with its own power source, or a pulled/pushed unit, the impetus of which is achieved for example by transmitting it from a vessel 10 following said unit, from the shore or even by directly exploiting the pulling motion via a bladed wing transmission.
• the collecting apparatus can be totally loose, or in accordance with the joints 12 in figure 3, joined turnably and flexibly to for example the collecting vessel 10, at which the complicated control mechanism and necessary somewhat sturdy fixing structure become superfluous.
• the displacement of the floating apparatus suitably an apparatus can thus be provided, which in practice operates completely automatically in the right position.
• the collecting unit according to the invention is arranged for example as a fixed part of the side and/or front component of a collecting barge.
• roller or cylinder 2 is con ⁇ nected via a pipe system to the apparatus so that the tem ⁇ perature of the adhesion surface 3 of roller 2 can be changed.
• the apparatus in question is formed of a pump, which pumps relatively cold water from a lower water layer into the internal space 13 of roller 2.
• the apparatus contains additionally a cooling tower or cooling machinery.
• the oil 7 that has adhered thereto is carried to blade 8, which peals the oil 7 from the surface 3 of cylinder 2, at which the oil is directed via a collecting gutter 14 to the collecting tank.
• Blade 8 is suitably heated to increase the release efficiency.
• the bottom of the collecting gutter 14 suitably comprises heating piping, which heats the gutter 14 to improve the flow of the substance to be collected.
• One embodiment of the invention suitably utilizes as the col lecting unit 1 a body of revolution, the mantle of such a bod or a part of said mantle, said unit having an essentiall smooth surface moving into the liquids 4 and 5 and there a least partly moving in the direction of the layer 5 of th liquid to be collected.
• the collecting unit is shown above a a cylinder or a roller 2 in accordance with figure 1, in whic case the adhesion surface 3 is suitably a cylindrical or coni cal.
• the adhesio surface 3 is formed of band-like surface, at which the col lecting unit 1 itself, as shown in figure 4, is formed of a endless belt or band 15 including a rotation and control apparatus 16.
• Figure 4 additionally shows one embodiment of the coolin system associated with the invention, which in this case com ⁇ prises a heat pump, which transfers the heat from the coolin unit 17 at the collection point of the adhesion surface 3, to the heating unit 18, which heats the adhesion " surface 3, before the deposit 7 of the liquid to be collected arrives at the screw apparatus 9 functioning as a scraper.
• a heat pump which transfers the heat from the coolin unit 17 at the collection point of the adhesion surface 3, to the heating unit 18, which heats the adhesion " surface 3, before the deposit 7 of the liquid to be collected arrives at the screw apparatus 9 functioning as a scraper.
• One embodiment of the invention comprises an adhesion surface 3, which in accordance to figure 5 is somewhat uneven.
• On the surface 3 there are thus suitably grooves, hollows or the like formations 19 for the improvement of adhesion.
• the grooves may extend in the direction of the motion of the adhesion surface 3, at an angle or transversely to the direction of the motion.
• the adhesion surface 3 comprises many recessed dents 19, which are suitably rounded at the bottom and/or at the point adjoining to the adhesion surface 3.
• the effect of the formations is partly based on a larger adhesion surface area.
• despite the scraper 8 a small amount of the substance to be collected remains in said formations, following the moving surface 3 back to the substance 5 to be collected.
• These small amounts of the substance remaining in the formations then act in a way that improves adhesion, because due to the surface tension of the substance 5 to be collected the substance layer 7 strives especially to adhere to the substance that has remained in these spots.
• test I the collected oil was comprised of heavy oil. During the measuring the air temperature was 16" C and the temperature in the pool 15 " C. The test was performed with an unheated cylinder 2. The results of this test are presented in figures 6 and 7. The collection capacity (V) of the roller 2 was then on an average 470 dm 3 /h per square meter of the roller in question.
• roller 2 was cooled with a cold solution of water and glycol so that the surface temperature of the roller was about 10. ,.11'C. Then the collection capacity was on an average 1100 dm 3 /h per square meter of the roller in question, as shown in figures 8 and 9. With a cooled roller a very thin film of oil can also be collected.
• the invention is described above mainly for situations wherein the liquid to be collected comprises an oil layer, which has spread on the surface of the water by accident.
• a method in accordance to the invention is especially suitable.
• the heavier the oil to be collected is the more efficiently and economically the method functions.
• the method functions equally well in collecting an oil emulsion as well as a film of oil.
• the ability of the invention to enrich an oil emulsion manyfold. For example when the test apparatus described above was used to collect an emulsion of heavy oil having a water content of more than 90%, the water content of the test result was below 50%. It is believed, that the enrichment may be caused especially by the centrifugal force and by the impulse.
• the method can be used also for the collection of light oil or broad oil fractions or their emulsions with excellent results.
• the method is also suitable for the separation of other types of liquids and liquid materials from one another, in addition to collecting oil from water. This separation can of course also take place in an industrial application.
• the special advantage of the present method is its efficiency, economy and broad applica ⁇ bility to different collection situations, and on the other hand the notable simplicity and operating reliability of the equipment used.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Civil Engineering (AREA)
• Structural Engineering (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
• Sampling And Sample Adjustment (AREA)
• Centrifugal Separators (AREA)
• Physical Or Chemical Processes And Apparatus (AREA)
• Treatment Of Liquids With Adsorbents In General (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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ID=8524353

Family Applications (1)

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• 1987
  • 1987-04-21 FI FI871739A patent/FI871739A/fi not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1988
  • 1988-04-20 EP EP88903852A patent/EP0355113A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1988-04-20 JP JP63503683A patent/JPH02503645A/ja active Pending
  • 1988-04-20 KR KR1019880701705A patent/KR890700514A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1988-04-20 WO PCT/FI1988/000059 patent/WO1988008388A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1988-04-20 AU AU17096/88A patent/AU1709688A/en not_active Abandoned
• 1989
  • 1989-10-20 DK DK520689A patent/DK520689A/da not_active Application Discontinuation

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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