Classifications

• • 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
  • E02B15/106—Overflow skimmers with suction heads; suction heads
• • 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
  • E02B15/048—Oil collectors moved over the water skimming the water surface
• • 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

Definitions

• Floating device for blocking and recovering pollutants.
• This invention relates to a floating device for blocking and recovering pollutants, in particular present on the surface of a river or an expanse of water.
• the invention relates to a floating device of the said type, designed and made in particular for blocking and recovering floating pollutants in the liquid ad solid phase, such as algae or hydrocarbons present on the surface of a river, or expanse of water, but which can be used for any site in which water is present, for which the recovery of pollutants is necessary.
• a floating device of the said type designed and made in particular for blocking and recovering floating pollutants in the liquid ad solid phase, such as algae or hydrocarbons present on the surface of a river, or expanse of water, but which can be used for any site in which water is present, for which the recovery of pollutants is necessary.
• Said known devices are designed solely for blocking oils and hydrocarbons and do not provide for the blocking of other pollutants and/or the recovery of the hydrocarbons.
• the aim of the invention is therefore to provide a floating device for blocking and recovering pollutants which is easy to use, easy to transport on the recovery site and mobile on the water.
• Another aim of the invention is to provide a floating device which has a function that is active, when connected to a further device which generates a negative pressure for recovering pollutants blocked by the floating device, and simultaneously passive since it can carry out the blocking and recovery of the pollutants even if stationary or if it is connected to pulling means such as small or large boats or drones.
• a further aim of the invention is to provide a modular floating device provided with coupling elements for ensuring flexibility and adaptability, in such a way that it can adopt shapes adequate for the recovery of pollutants in areas having an irregular geometry, such as gorges or corners of a surface of water.
• the specific object of this invention is therefore a floating device, for blocking and recovering pollutants dispersed in environmental sites provided with water, comprising at least one hollow elongate body, designed to be positioned on the water, provided with an inner surface, designed to receive said pollutants, and an external surface designed to be in contact with the water; an opening is made on a portion of said external surface, for the entry, in use, of said pollutants inside said at least one hollow body.
• the floating device when the floating device is in use immersed in water it has a first portion immersed in water and a second portion emerged from the water, and said opening is positioned at the surface of the water.
• said floating device can comprise at least one stabilizing element coupled to said first portion.
• said floating device can comprise a sliding bulkhead which passes from an open position, wherein said sliding bulkhead is retracted with respect to the water, to a closed position, wherein said bulkhead is extracted and close to the water, so as to partially or totally cover said opening.
• said hollow elongate body extends along a main axis of longitudinal extension and can comprise a first end prima and a second end opposite said first end.
• said coupling element of said first end and said coupling element of said second end can be coupled to a plurality of further floating devices.
• said floating device can comprise a light source positioned on said at least one hollow body powered by batteries or by a photovoltaic panel.
• said floating device can comprise a tank coupled to said external surface for the collection of said pollutants.
• Figure 1 shows a front perspective view of the floating device for blocking and recovering pollutants according to this invention
• Figure 2 shows a side view of the device of Figure 1 ;
• Figure 3 shows a front view of a detail of Figure 1 ;
• Figure 4 shows a front view of a part added in the device of Figure
• Figure 5 shows a schematic side view of a second embodiment of the device according to the invention.
• Figure 6 shows a front view of the connection in series of several floating devices according to the invention.
• the floating device B for blocking and recovering pollutants comprises an elongate hollow body 1 extending along an axis of extension X.
• pollutants means elements in a liquid and solid phase, organic such as algae, leaves, and inorganic such as hydrocarbons, emulsions, plastic bags, packages used for various purposes and objects of various kinds which can float on the water.
• Said hollow body 1 is positioned in a canal, or pond or lake or river or sea, hereafter simply defined as water A, in such a way that a first portion 1 a of said hollow body 1 is immersed below the surface of the water A and the remaining second portion 1 b is emerged with respect to the surface of the water A.
• Said hollow body 1 has an inner surface 1 1 and an external surface
• An opening 13 is made on a portion of said external surface 12; when said floating device B is positioned in the water A, said opening 13 is positioned substantially at the surface of the water A, in such a way as to allow the entry of pollutants present in the water A, from the surface of the water A towards said inner surface 1 1.
• said opening 13 can be partially or totally closed by means of a sliding bulkhead 131 passing from an open position, wherein said bulkhead 131 is retracted with respect to the surface of the water A, so as to leave uncovered said opening 13, to a closed position, wherein said bulkhead 1 13 is extracted and close to the surface of the water A, so as to partially or totally cover said opening 13.
• Said bulkhead can also have a different shape, without however departing from the scope of protection of the invention.
• Said bulkhead 131 can be actuated manually or automatically.
• Said hollow body 1 is provided with a first 14 and a second 15 closed end.
• Said first end 14 is provided with a coupling element 141 and an openable portion 142.
• the second end 15 is also provided with a coupling element 151 and an openable portion 152.
• Said coupling element 141 of said first closed end 14 and coupling element 151 of said second end 15 are designed for coupling with recovery mean, not shown in the drawings, which are used for withdrawing said floating device B from the water A towards land.
• Said coupling elements 141 and 151 are also used for the coupling with further floating modules, as described in detail below.
• said hollow body 1 is also provided with at least one stabilizing element 16 positioned at said opening 13.
• Said stabilizing element 16 can have different geometries; according to the preferred embodiment described, it has a substantially elongate parallelepiped shape.
• said stabilizing element is provide with a first end 161 and a second end 162 opposite said first end 161.
• Said first end 161 is substantially wedge-shaped and is positioned at said opening 13, in such a way as to make contact with the pollutants present on the surface of the water A.
• Said second end 162 has a substantially rounded shape for favouring the stabilization and the floating.
• the contact surface of said stabilizing element 16 with the water is corrugated in order to ensure a stable contact with the pollutants present in the water.
• Said stabilizing element 16 prevents the hollow body 1 from sinking when the inner surface 1 1 is filled with the pollutants contacted.
• Said stabilizing element 16 and said first 161 and second 162 ends can adopt different shapes, providing the floating of said floating device B is ensured, without however departing from the scope of protection of the invention.
• Said plurality of rotary brushes 171 is made of oil-absorbent material or relative to the substance to be recovered and has the purpose of cleaning said inner surface 1 1.
• Said floating device B is provided with at least one light source, of the LED type, not shown in the drawings, in such a way that it is visible in poor night time visibility conditions or in the presence of fog.
• Said light source can be power by batteries or by photovoltaic means, such as a photovoltaic panel.
• said floating device B comprises a known probe for measuring hydrocarbons present in the water A, positioned close to said first portion 1 a .
• Said probe can be connected to said source of light, in such a way that it emits luminous signals when the probe detects the presence of hydrocarbons dissolved in the water A.
• said floating device B’ comprises all the features described for the first embodiment B and also comprises a tank 18 for the collection of the pollutants contacted on the surface of the water A.
• the tank 18 is immersed completely or partially in the water A and receives the pollutants contacted by gravity.
• Said tank 18 can be connected to a suction system, not shown in the drawings, for drawing out and cleaning the tank 18 of pollutants, in such a way as to increase the collection capacity of said floating device B’.
• Said floating device B comprises a filter cartridge C for filtering the pollutants dissolved in the water which can be housed at various points of the floating device B, such as, for example, in the tank 18 or in a part of said immersed portion 1 b.
• Both the first embodiment of said floating device B and the second embodiment of said floating device B’ can comprise the insertion of elements necessary to provide ballast for said floating device B and/or B’ for stabilizing it in a predetermined position.
• Said coupling between the modules B, Bi, B 2 , ..., B n is not rigid, so the resulting floating device can easily adapt to various geometries of the environmental site in which it is located.
• a tubular coupling element is used to hydraulically connect the modules by means of said openable portions 142, so as to connect said modules B, Bi, B 2 , ..., B n to a suction system which draws out the contacted pollutants.
• connection in series can also be achieved for the second embodiment of the floating device B’.
• said floating device B When it is necessary to block and recover the pollutants present in an environmental site provided with water A, said floating device B is positioned on the water surface A in a predetermined zone of the site.
• said floating device B If said floating device B is stationary on the water A, it will collect the pollutants present in its vicinity until said inner surface 1 1 is filled.
• said floating device B is coupled to suction means by means of said openable portion 142 of said first end 14 and openable portion 152 of said second end 15, the pollutants entering said hollow body 1 are sucked out in order to increase the collection capacity of said floating device B.
• said floating device B is connected to pulling means such as small or large boats or drones by means of said coupling element 141 of said first end 14 and said coupling element 151 of said second end 15, said floating device B can make contact with and therefore collect all the pollutants present on the water A, even in different zones of the environmental site in which it is positioned.
• the floating device B can be connected to suction means.
• Said sliding bulkhead 131 can be moved remotely either manually or automatically in order to vary the gap of said opening 13, passing, therefore, from said open position to said closed position, on the basis of the dimensions of the pollutants to be recovered.
• Said plurality of rotary brushes 171 move on the basis of the speed of flow of the air sucked by said suction means, and allow further recovery, and in a separated fashion, of part or all of the pollutants or hydrocarbons dispersed since during rotation they slide on said inner surface 1 1.
• a flexible coupling element is used which puts into communication said openable portions 142 of each module B-i, B 2 , ..., B n so as to allow the suction means to such the pollutants entering said hollow body 1 of all said modules Bi, B 2 , ..., B n .
• Said coupling elements 141 and 152 of the modules present at the ends can also be coupled to recovery means for the movement of the entire modular device on the water A.
• the floating device B allows the blocking and recovery of pollutants dispersed on the water according to a method which is easy to make and use.

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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)
• Removal Of Floating Material (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

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• 2018
  • 2018-11-27 WO PCT/IT2018/050231 patent/WO2019111286A1/en unknown
  • 2018-11-27 EP EP18815040.3A patent/EP3720764B1/de active Active

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