FI60693B - FOERFARANDE FOER REGENERERING AV MINERALULL SOM ANVAENDS FOER BEKAEMPNING AV OLJA ELLER LIKNANDE AEMNEN - Google Patents

Description

ESS? *] [B] «« ADVERTISING PUBLICATION, n, Q χ (11) utlAggningsskrift 6U6y 3 ifc -'- vSsM C Patent granted 10 03 1982

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Patent and register held ,,,, k t, _. .__. . (44) Date of issue of the publication. - ^ ** ^ ®n * "oe ^ registerstyrelsen Anidfctn utlagd och utl. * Krift« n publictnd 30. 11.81 (32) (33) (31) Pyydetty etuolkeu »- Begird prloritet (71) A. Ahlström Osakeyhtiö, Noormarkku, Suomi-Finland (FI) (72) Keijo Laitinen, Karhula, Ensi Jauros, Helsinki, Tapsini Ojala,

Karhula, Taimo Loikas, Karhula, Finland-Finland (FI) (5 * 0 Method for regenerating mineral wool used to control oil or similar substances - Method for regenerating mineral wool used to control oil or similar substances

The present invention relates to a method for regenerating mineral wool used in the control of oil or another substance, in which the substance is impregnated and removed from the crushed mineral wool.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new method which makes it possible, in the event of an oil spill, to carry out oil spill response, in particular from a tanker, by the personnel themselves or a similar oil spill response operation.

Most oil damage in the water occurs in such a way that the tanker leaks and there is limited access to the water. Cases where the oil spill is so large that the entire vessel is emptied are relatively rare, albeit locally destructive. The majority of oil spills can therefore be prevented if the tanker itself is equipped with suitable control equipment and material, and control can be started immediately after the damage has occurred.

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The course of control measures is as follows: in the event of an oil spill, the spill site is surrounded by oil booms, such as boom nets, so that the spread of oil spills at sea is brought under the control required by the initial situation. Glass wool grit is applied to the area bounded by the booms, for example with a blower. The crushed oil, into which the oil is absorbed and which presses against the oil boom, forms, as it were, a miniature mountain, the peaks of which extend below the surface of the water.

This oil boom-grit combination forms a protective structure to prevent the spread of oil, even in waves. From the area bounded by the booms, the oil-soaked crumb can be lifted back onto the vessel, for example with a grab bucket or nylon net attached to the hydraulic crane boom. The batch is emptied into a funnel leading to a centrifuge or suction wire. After centrifugation or a vacuum suction process in which the oil is separated from the crumb by centrifugal force or suction air, the oil is led to a separate tank, which may be a large water-floating "sock" or other tank made of rubber.

The crumb can be blown or otherwise discharged into the sea for a new collection process. This can happen over and over again. Thus, the method can be used to control a limited amount of leakage until the leak has been contained or the tank block on board has been emptied to the waterline level and other rescue operations have been organized.

It is already known to use mineral wool, both glass wool and rock wool, to absorb and bind oil from the surface of water. Known methods have shown the good properties of mineral wools in absorbing oil.

U.S. Patent 3,933,632 discloses a method for removing oil or other material from the surface of water using a mixture of lead slag mineral wool and rock flour as an absorbent. The absorbent is used herein as a disposable material.

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British Patent 1,235,463 discloses a method for impregnating oil, in which inorganic fibers coated with a water-repellent substance, e.g. glass or mineral fibers, are used as the absorbent. To regenerate the absorbent, it is proposed to remove the absorbed oil by incineration. In this case, the binder on the surface of the fiber is also destroyed during incineration, which is an important factor for absorption, as a result of which the material loses its good absorption and buoyancy properties. Recoating the burned fiber is laborious, practically impossible under oil field control conditions, because the coating requires e.g. precise heat treatment. The carbon left on the surface of the fiber as a result of combustion is not sufficient in its sorption properties and can also be washed away.

Finnish patent 43,289 discloses a method for removing water-insoluble and water-floating fats, in which mineral wool, most preferably glass resin-bonded glass wool, is used as the absorbent. For reuse of the absorbent, it is proposed to remove about 75% of the oil adhering to it by squeezing.

Finnish patent 53,400 discloses a method for extinguishing a fire, in which the burning area is covered with a non-combustible, fibrous material with good absorbency, such as mineral wool crumb. It is clear from the patent that the liquid absorbed from the mineral wool can be removed by pressing, whereby the mineral wool can be reused.

German patent application 27 38 528 discloses the use of resin-bonded mineral wool with a bulk density of 30 to 3,120 kg / m 3 for the absorption of oil and its reuse after the oil has been removed by pressing.

U.S. Patent 4,006,079 discloses a method for removing oil from the surface of water using mats made of fiberglass 4,60693, from which the oil is removed by compression.

When mineral wool is used as a disposable material, no specified requirements have been set for its oil retention capacity, but it is sufficient to keep only its absorption sorption capacity, which is achieved with most mineral wool materials. Oil retention is then defined as its ability to retain oil when lifted into the air. This property is important in a process in which glass wool crumb is used as a "transfer vessel" to transfer oil from water to a vessel, but the oil retention must not be excessive, as in some known ways where heavy materials are added to mineral wool to increase absorption and because the material then loses most of its buoyancy and makes it more difficult to remove the oil other than by burning. It is also known that a lighter weight wool mineral material absorbs more oil than its heavier weight, but correspondingly the retention capacity is greatly reduced, which is an obstacle to the transfer of oil from one place to another, the material acting as a leaking "transfer vessel". The use as a disposable material requires very large stocks of mineral wool in the event of a spill on board, which is why its use as a pesticide has not reached the extent required by the properties of the mineral wool.

Only a limited amount of oil can be removed by pressing without damaging the fiber structure or fibers. If the fibrous material in the form of crumb is subjected to high compressive stress, it is crushed, making it difficult to reuse. In the method according to the invention, the oil is removed from the glass wool crumb without breaking the fibrous structure, so that there are practically no restrictions on its reuse.

The present invention is based on the finding in studies that glass wool material in the form of glass wool crumb, when made from a suitable plastic resin bonded and heat treated glass wool blank, has a structure such that it has considerable oil retention capacity and allows oil mechanical removal of the structure using already known methods, vacuum suction and centrifugation, so that both the structure of the glass wool remains the same and the binder on the surface of the fiber remains after the oil removal treatment. This allows the same glass wool material to be used repeatedly in the impregnation-collection oil removal process as a 1. durable material, as a result of which only a limited amount of glass wool material is needed for a tanker, which further allows a method by which tanker personnel can carry out control measures with suitable equipment.

The method according to the invention is characterized in that the oil or similar substance impregnated in the mineral wool crumb is separated from the mineral wool crumb in a manner which does not disrupt the structure of the crumb by subjecting it to the effect of centrifugal force or gas flow displacement. In this case, at least 90% of the oil retained in the mineral wool crumb can be removed and recovered, provided that the degree of absorption into the crumb is substantially high. It has been found experimentally that the amount of oil of the corresponding order of magnitude cannot be removed by pressing without breaking the structure.

The mineral wool crumb used in the new process is also characterized in that, after degreasing as described, it reabsorbs an amount of oil substantially corresponding to the amount of oil removed.

It is also characteristic of the crumb used in the method that the oil is absorbed from the surface of the water into the free spaces between the fibers and when the crumb is lifted from the water for 1 min. during the drainage time, most of the absorbed oil remains, at least 60%.

It is also characteristic of the crumb used in the process that the limited moisture present in the crumb does not substantially impair the utilization of the crumb in this process.

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The crumb used in the process is also characterized by the fact that the oil absorbed into it does not release to a significant extent in the slow flow of water, such as in a wave caused by the sea.

Studies have shown that the most suitable material for this purpose is crumb consisting of smaller pieces of mineral wool of almost the same size, with a substantially low amount of loose fibers. The average fiber thickness should be 3-20, etc. The so-called beads should not be significantly present in the fibers. The bulk density of the crumb should preferably be 40 to 120 kg / m 3, most preferably 70 to 110 kg / m 3. The fibers must be coated with a plastic resin, which at the same time acts as a binder connecting the fibers. The grit is made from mineral wool blanks by cutting.

The crushed pieces of the described material are characterized by a resilience resulting from the equilibrium of the crumb structure and which allows the structure, including the coating material, to withstand mechanical treatment so that the structure can withstand, for example, centrifugation, vacuum

It has been found experimentally that the crumb used in the method, when blown into water, floats on the surface of the water for at least 6 months and that the sinking part is about 1%.

It has been found experimentally that the grit used in the method, e.g. applied to the shoreline in water or drifted ashore, substantially prevents the beach from being oiled.

It has been found experimentally that the crumb used in the process, when compressed into a tight package, does not substantially lose its properties even after years of storage.

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Although glass wool has been used as an exemplary material in this specification, it does not exclude the possibility of using other mineral wools in the new method, provided that their properties meet the requirements of the method, but their use is known due to this new method. Although this report proposes the application of a method for removing oil from the surface of a water back to a tanker from which a leak has occurred, it does not preclude the application of the new method to other vessels, including those constructed specifically for oil spill response. , for oil control by ice, as well as for oil control from any solid surface and from the ground or snow or ditches, but these are known to be an application of this new method.

The method can also be used to control other substances that behave like oil, such as fuel oil, keratin, methanol, alcohols, solvents and paints.

Examples: 1. Absorption and retention capacity were measured with equipment consisting of a 260 mm diameter, 6.8 liter absorption vessel with a torn bottom and a 300 mm diameter oil tank. Glass wool crumbs of different bulk weights were placed in an absorption vessel which was immersed in an oil tank. After absorption, the bottom tap of the oil tank was opened and the absorbed oil was measured. The absorption vessel was lifted from the tank and the oil was allowed to drain for 1 min. the time after which the amount of oil retained by the crumb was measured. commercial diesel was used as the oil. The test temperature was 20 ° C.

The results obtained are shown in the following table: 8 60693

Koe Tilav.p. Weighed Absorbed Retained Absorbed Retained Retention kg / m crumb (g) ml ml 1-ö / kg-r l-ö / kg-r absorption —______________ O '1 120 816 5930 4580 7.2 5.6 78 2 100 680 6280 3240 9.2 7.7 84 3 62 422 5930 4710 14.0 11.2 80 ^ 52 354 6100 4250 17.2 12.0 70 5 20 136 4750 2370 34.9 17.4 50 r = crumb ö = oil 2. The spinning test was performed using a washing machine with a rotation speed of 2700 rpm, spinning time 1 min. , temperature 20 ° C. diesel oil was used as the oil and 3 glass wool crumbs with a bulk density of 48 kg / m were used as absorbent.

Test 1.

Steps Crumb Retained Retained Spin Separated Rouh. Distinguished original oil + oil crude oil residual oil retaining, __ (£> _crumbs (g) (g) _ weight (g) (g) _oil (g) of dried% 1 500 3803 3303 612 3191 112 97 2 612 3580 3080 603 2977 103 97 3 603 3419 2919 602 2817 102 97 4 602 3386 2886 611 2775 111 96

Test 2.

j 500 3800 3300 607 3193 107 97 2 607 3607 3107 607 3000 107 97 3 607 3607 3107 615 2992 115 96 4 615 3615 3115 603 3012 103 97 5 603 3603 3103 605 2998 105 97 6 605 3605 3105 602 3003 102 97 3. Use of moist wool for absorption and buoyancy

The test was performed at VTT's fuel and lubricant laboratory 9,60693 on April 7, 1978. Bulk density was determined by weighing and measuring as well as the Klein & Andere method. The moisture content was determined according to DIN 51718. The oil retention capacity was determined by the Sturtz & Klein method, the test temperature was 20 ° C and the oil was diesel oil.

Results: Sample Volume- Moisture Dry matter oil retention- Floatability weight% v / v capacity 1-oil / kg- 1 h mix. After food.

_ (kq / m ^) _ (kq / rr?) __ crumb ______S______ 1 59.2 0.4 59.0 10.5> 99 2 59.7 0.72 59.0 10.9> 99 3 93.6 23.7 71.4 5.87> 99 4. A glass tube, 40 mm in diameter and 300 mm in height, was placed glass wool crumb 10.3 g with 49.8 g of crude oil retained. Water was drained through the tube at a rate of 10 l at a rate of 5 l / h. The amount of oil separated was 3.6 g of 1.6% of the retained oil.

5. The vacuum suction test was performed using a sieve-based vessel which was subjected to a vacuum of 900 mm vp. The bulk density of the crumb was 48 g / m, diesel oil was used, temperature + 20 ° C. Suction time 1 min.

Steps to Crumb Retention Retention. Vacuum Separated. Rouheeseen Separated.

orig. oil + oil sucked oil residual oil (g) crumb (g) (g) crumb (g) oil (g) retained weight%

Test 1.

1 80 503 423 178 325 98 76.8 2 178 480 302 175 305 -3 100 3 175 461 286 186 275 11 96 4 186 457 271 179 278 -7 102.5 10 60693

Lies Crumb Retained Retained. Vacuum Separated. Rouheeseen Separated.

orig. oil + oil Sucked oil residual oil (g) crumb (g) (g) crumb (g) oil (g) retained ____ weight __________%

Test 2.

1 60 404 344 146 258 86 75 2 146 385 239 139 246 -7 103 3 139 382 243 135 247 -4 102 4 135 368 233 136 232 1 100

Test 3.

1 40 269 229 81 188 41 82 2 81 268 187 81 187 - 100 3 81 256 175 81 175 - 100 4 81 246 165 81 166 -1 100

Claims (3)

60693 11 s A method for regenerating mineral wool used to control an oil or the like, which is impregnated with and removed from crushed mineral wool having a bulk density of 30 to 120 kg / m and the fibers coated with a plastic resin, characterized in that the oil impregnated into the mineral wool crumb or is separated from the mineral wool crumb in a manner that does not disrupt the structure of the crumb by subjecting it to the displacement effect of centrifugal force or gas flow. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the oil or similar substance impregnated in the mineral wool crumb is separated therefrom by centrifugation. A method according to claim 1, characterized in that the oil or similar substance impregnated in the mineral wool crumb is separated therefrom by vacuum suction.