FI85528C - OLJEUPPSAMLINGSREDSKAP. - Google Patents

Description

OIL RECOVERY FACILITY

85S28

The invention relates to an oil collecting means located in an oil-mixed water flow channel collected by an oil spill response vessel and comprising at least two axial endless collecting members 5 with oil collecting bristles mounted at an angle upwards in the water flow direction and in connection with -si. The patent application has been separated from the patent application FI 875069 by division.

Numerous oil removal devices are known in the art for separating and lifting oil that has fallen into water. Many of them are based on the use of a rope or belt, in which case the rope is moved back and forth on the surface of the water so that the rope and the oil adhering to it are guided through a collecting device on board to remove oil from the rope. It is also known to guide oil-mixed water by means of booms or similar means inside a vessel, where the oil is separated from the water by means of oil-absorbing means, e.g. by means of rotatable mats or brush members. Such an oil collecting apparatus is considerably more efficient than said method based on a mobile rope. However, the disadvantage of the prior art has been the relatively low capacity and oil collection capacity as well as the poor versatility of the equipment according to the requirements of different practical conditions.

.25 In the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,061,569 and FI 68694, the flow of water into the flow channel inside the ship is based on the movement of the ship so that booms projecting from the hull of the ship direct oil-mixed water into the channel as the ship moves forward. In order to improve the water flow, in one application impellers are arranged in the flow channel and a guide plate in connection with the water discharge opening. It is clear that the power of such passively operating oil spill response vessels is quite low when moving at low speeds or when the oil spill response vessel is stationary. It is not possible to vary or control the flow rate of water in the flow channel as required for the optimal operation of the oil collection equipment under different practical conditions, as regards, for example, the oil content of the water or the quality of the oil in the water. In the solution according to US 4,061,569, in addition, the waves and gusts interfere with the flow through the channel.

Due to its lower specific gravity, the oil tends to rise to the surface of the water. Due to the wave and water movements, the oil layer 10 does not usually separate from the water along a clear interface, but rather in the contaminated water layer the oil content of the water rises towards the surface. It is, of course, important for the efficient operation of the oil collection equipment that only contaminated water is passed through the collection means.

15 It is very difficult to collect oil from water covered by broken ice or solid ice. However, it is known that the binding of oil in water to the ice there is very low, especially when the oil is fresh. Finnish Patent Publication No. 73029 discloses an oil collection method in which, by immersing ice cubes under the surface of water, rinsing of the ice cubes is achieved, whereby the oil on and between them is released and rises with the rinsing water to the collection space. However, the immersion of ice cubes using a perforated immersion member is quite slow and the bow of the oil spill response vessel is 2 * 5 ·. equipping with a continuous immersion device is relatively expensive to implement.

With regard to the actual oil collecting means, various rotatable members are known, the operation of which is based on the adhesion of the oil in question. upwardly lifting members, from which the oil is then collected, e.g. by pressing. Finnish

Patent No. 70443 describes a rotatable cylindrical collecting means with bristles from which oil is removed by means of a scraper device. The weakness of such a system is its closed structure, which does not allow water 35 to flow through the collecting means. U.S. Pat

I: 3 65528 3,617,555 describes a rotatable, unitary, bristled carpet member which also has the weakness of a closed, water-impermeable structure which provides a low oil collection efficiency. Finnish Patent Publication No. 71596 5 describes an oil collecting device consisting of successive brush pieces arranged in parallel chains. In this way, a highly water-permeable structure is obtained. However, a weakness of this prior art is the low oil collection efficiency between the brushes, i.e. in the direction of the main water flow 10. An additional disadvantage is the rather laborious replacement of the brush pieces, e.g. for different oil collection conditions.

The object of the present invention is to provide a more efficient oil collecting means for an oil spill response vessel, which avoids the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, it is intended to provide a collection device whose parameters affecting the optimum oil collection capacity can be varied in a manner corresponding to different practical conditions and which achieves an even better oil collection capacity under varying conditions.

The oil collection device according to the invention is best suited for arranging, for example, an oil spill response vessel according to Finnish patent application No. 875069, in which oil-mixed surface water is led to the ship's internal flow channel by oil collection booms in connection with which said oil collection means are arranged. Preferably, a water pumping device is also arranged in the flow channel, by means of which the water flow in the channel can be adjusted optimally under different oil collection conditions. The suction head of the pump is then preferably located in the channel downstream of the oil collecting means 30 and on the pressure side of the pump the water is led back to the sea via side valves or the like.

The features of the oil collecting means according to the invention appear from claim 1. One of the shafts of the collecting means is Pulling. The collecting means can be placed at different angles to the water flow direction 3 ^ 5 so that the 4 85528 brush mat effectively penetrates oily water. The flow of water through the brush is mainly through flow openings between the plate-like members. At the upper end of the collecting means, a so-called collision member 5 and scraper members or e.g. a roller press are placed to remove oil from the mat. The separated oil is led either by free flow or mechanically to a collecting tank. The brushless rotational speed is preferably arranged to be adjustable so that optimal oil collection can be achieved under different conditions. The plate-like members coated with the bristles 10 of the collecting means are preferably arranged to be detachable and easily replaceable, so that the most suitable brush quality in each case is available for collecting oils of different qualities.

The oil collecting device according to the invention has considerable advantages over known equipment. When the water flow in the channel is arranged to be adjustable and independent of external conditions, such as, for example, the speed of the vessel or the wave, the flow rate of oily water passing through the collecting means can always be adjusted optimally. For example, in the recovery of cold and solid oil or tar balls, it is more advantageous to use a lower flow rate than in the collection of light oil. When purifying very oily water or when the oil is light, both the flow rate and the brushless rotation speed 25 can be increased. When the oil is directed into the flow channel, the vacuum created by the pump enables efficient peeling of the oily layer of material from the water surface, i.e. the oil content of the inflowing water can be adjusted by sucking the incoming water from the surface of contaminated seawater. This is not possible .30. with passive oil collection devices, especially in the case where the flow of incoming water is provided by the water-lifting effect of the booms. By arranging the water flow through the collecting means by the suction effect of the pump, this flow is made substantially more efficient, i.e. the brush mat of the collecting means 35 can be compacted, whereby its oil collecting capacity is improved. An additional advantage of the pump-controlled water flow is the possibility to use the oil spill response vessel even in mild ice conditions, whereby the water flow provided by the pump is able to flush the ice cubes from the oil. A particular advantage of the actual collecting device according to the invention over the known devices is an even simpler structure, which, however, is more efficient than the known collecting devices.

When the brush mat of the collector is flat against the oil surface, accurate "brushing" of the oily water is ensured without the risk of flow-through. Like the cola conveyor, the collection device is also able to lift e.g. tar balls from the water. The cleaning of the brush members is facilitated and made more efficient, e.g. with respect to the semicircular brush pieces of patent publication FI 71596, when the bristles can generally be arranged perpendicularly projecting from the carpet. An additional advantage is that it is easier to change large and thus fewer brush pieces, e.g.

15 for different oil spill response conditions. For example, a heavy lump-like oil can be lifted from the water with a wire brush or a plastic-containing, non-oil-absorbing fiber brush, while for lighter oils, oil-absorbent brushes should be used.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which Figures 1-3 show the structure of an oil spill response vessel in which an oil collecting device according to the invention is arranged, Figure 5 shows a side view of a collecting means according to the invention. as seen from the side, and Fig. 6 shows a collection means .3.0 according to the invention. the principle of oil removal from the brush.

In the drawing, reference 1 denotes an oil spill vessel equipped with oil collecting booms 2 which direct oil-mixed water through the inlet 10 to the water flow channel 3. The booms 2 are preferably adjustable both in the horizontal plane and in the depth dimension. Reference 5 refers to the actual oil collecting means of the ship, which are the subject of the invention 6 85528. A pumping device 4 is arranged in the flow channel 3 downstream of the collecting means 5, which creates a vacuum in the flow channel in the part 8 after this collecting means 5. The suction head 5 of the pumping device 4 is constructed either adjustable or fixed. The negative pressure caused by the pump on the suction side can then be adjusted either by adjusting the suction head or by adjusting the volume flow of the pump, in which way an optimal and uniform flow in the flow channel 3 can be achieved regardless of the external conditions 10. The pumping device 4 is dimensioned to provide a relatively low flow rate in the flow channel 3, of the order of 0.1 m / s, instead the volume of water to be transferred is quite large. The water purified on the pressure side of the pumping device 4 is led back to the sea via the ship's side valve 7 15. In connection with the inflow opening 10, there is a height-adjustable front-sloping plate member 11, the function of which is to peel the oil from the water surface in a more concentrated flow channel 3 by directing the suction effect of the pumping device 4 to the most oily substance in water. The plate member 11 may preferably be provided with a horizontal base portion (not shown) to enhance the peeling effect. Particularly under ice conditions, it is possible to provide the inlet opening 10 with a grate (not shown) or a similar member which prevents ice cubes from entering the flow channel 3. In this case, the water flow 25 through the grate to the flow channel 3 causes the ice cubes to be flushed out of oil. The cleaned ice cubes are then guided behind the plate member 11 either from time to time by raising the height-adjustable plate or by arranging an adjustable opening between said plate member 11 and the hull of the vessel 1 through which the 30 ice cubes move smoothly from the front of the grate to the other side of the boom.

In the flow channel 3, the oil-mixed water flows through the rotatable brush of the collecting means 5 by the suction effect provided by the pump, whereby the oil binds or adheres to the brushes 35. The upper end of the rotatable brush mat has oil removal members 13 and 14, from which the oil is led to a collecting channel 6, from where the oil is further led to a collecting tank 9.

7 85528

The collecting means 5 consists of a rotatable brush mat rotated about two shafts 12, 16 so that the lower shaft is substantially at the level of the bottom of the flow channel 3 and the upper shaft in the water flow direction further above and above the water surface of the flow channel 5 and the collection channel 6.

One of the shafts, preferably above, is Pulled so that the brush mat is rotated in the direction of water flow as oily water flows against the mat. The brush mat consists of tile-shaped parts 15 arranged perpendicular to the direction of rotation, which are coated with oil-collecting bristles. The bristles are attached to the tiles perpendicularly and at an angle to the sides. The length of the plates 15 is determined by the length of the shafts. At the upper end of the collecting means, in connection with the upper shaft 16, is arranged to remove oil from the mat 15 perpendicular to the direction of rotation of the impact member 13, whereby the moving brushes collide with it. The purpose of the part 13 is to remove the coarsest fraction from the bristles by bending the bristles, whereby when the bristles are released the oil is released from the force of the movement. This is followed by a comb-like scraping part 14 in the direction of movement of the brushless 20, the purpose of which is to remove the oil remaining on the brush. Instead of a scraping part, a roller-type press can, of course, be used to remove the oil, which is advantageous when collecting especially light grades of oil from water.

'25 - The plate-like parts 15 are fastened at least at their ends to a belt or chain running around the shafts, preferably by some known quick-fastening arrangement, by means of which the plates and the brush quality can be changed quickly. An intermediate space is provided between the tiles, from which water can flow through the brush mat. Brushless The drive shaft 16 is, as shown in Fig. 5, of the notched gear type, the notches of which are intended to move the mat to remove oil lumps between the plates 15 and to make the surface of the mat smooth for oil strippers. Drive shaft.35: The speed of rotation is adjustable according to Ö1collection conditions. In general, the brushless rotation speed must be

Claims (6)

8 B5528 the larger the lighter oil is removed from the water. The brushless second shaft can be either smooth or gear-type. The invention is not limited to the embodiments shown, but several variations of the invention are conceivable within the scope of the appended claims. An oil collecting means located in an oil-mixed water flow channel (3) collected by an oil spill response vessel and comprising at least two endless collecting members with oil collecting bristles about an axis (12, 16) mounted at an angle upwards in the water flow direction and connected to the upper end. release means (13, 14) for recovering the oil collected by the collecting member, characterized in that the bristles are arranged in elongate plate-like members (15) spaced apart in the direction of rotation of the collecting member, spaced transversely across the collecting member. , 16) circumferential endless chains, belts or the like. 2. An oil shielding ring according to claim 1, which is rotatable for use in the rotary operation of the upper body (16) of the axle and the body of the body and the body of the upper body, which is preferably (15) fram till sagda borstelement för av avensgsna oijepartikler fran utrymmet mellan de skivformiga organen (15). Oil collecting means according to claim 1, characterized in that to rotate the collecting member at least one (16) of said shafts is connected to a power device and provided with a step gear, the steps of which preferably extend between the plate-like members (15) to said bristles to remove oil particles. 3. An oil shielding device according to claim 1 or 2, which comprises a locking device (13, 14) having a connecting body (13) having the same power as a shielding body, the lowering member rotation is then performed on an anchored organ (14), the genome being scraped and / or pressed at least 15 times in a row. Oil collecting means according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the removal means (13, 14) comprises a longitudinal elongate collision member (13) of the plate-like members 30 which removes a coarser fraction from the bristles and a comb-like member (14) then arranged in the direction of rotation of the collecting member. ) which, by scraping and / or squeezing, removes the oil remaining from the bristles. 4. Oljeuppsamlingsredskap enligt patentkravet 1 eller 2, kännetecknat. (13, 14) of the same means as the main body (13) with the same type of body, the same body having the same size as the body of the body 20 oijän frän borstelementen. Oil collecting means according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the removal means (13, 14) comprises 5 longitudinal elongate impact members (13) of the plate-like members which remove a coarser fraction from the bristles and a roller press subsequently arranged in the direction of rotation of the collecting member. residual oil. 5. The application process may include an additional patent, including up to 25% of the rotation requirements. Oil racking device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the rotational speed of the collecting member is adjustable. Oil collecting means according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flow of oil-mixed water 15 through the oil collecting means (5) is arranged to be provided and controlled by means of a water pumping device (4) arranged in the flow channel (3). (30) for the use of oil pellets 20 (3) for the use of oil pellets in the form of an oil or a pair of shafts of a single axle (12, 16) with a plurality of elements, including oil pellets, uppät i vattnets strömningsriktning och vid vilket organs .25. The upper side of the anchorage means (13, 14) for the purpose of adjusting the length of the upper part of the upper part of the upper part of the upper part of the upper part of the upper part of the upper part of the upper part organ (15), som pä i i och för sig känt sätt - är fästade pä kring axlarna (12, 16) löpande ändlösa kedjor, remmar eller motsvarande organ. 10 85528 6. An oil shielding device according to the preceding claims, which is intended to be used in the form of an oil shielding device (5) and which is used in the first and third steps of the invention (3).