JP2011207537A - Ore lifting system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably arrange an ore lifting system which lifts a valuable object (for example, an ore) mined at the sea bottom, particularly, an ore lifting device having a rotatingly driven mechanism, at the set bottom or in the vicinity of the seat bottom.SOLUTION: This ore lifting system includes an ore lifting base arranged on the sea, an ore lifting transfer pipe arranged up to the sea bottom from the ore lifting base and transferring sea bottom seawater including the valuable object mined at the sea bottom to the ore lifting base, a separator for separating the valuable object and the sea bottom seawater, a circulating transfer pipe arranged to the sea bottom from the ore lifting base and returning the seawater of separating the valuable object to the sea bottom, a circulating pump for sending the seawater of separating the valuable object into the circulating transfer pipe, and the ore lifting device arranged at the sea bottom and having a submerged pump for sending the valuable object into the ore lifting transfer pipe by sucking from a suction port together with the sea bottom seawater. The ore lifting device includes a plurality of submerged pumps arranged in parallel, and equalizes the number of submerged pumps for rotating an impeller in the clockwise direction, to the number of submerged pumps for rotating the impeller in the counterclockwise direction.

Description

  The present invention relates to a pumping system for pumping valuable materials such as ore mined on the seabed to the sea, and in particular, using a transfer pipe such as a flexible riser to continuously pump seabed seawater containing valuable materials. Concerning the mining system.

  Conventionally, useful resources existing on the sea floor have been collected. On the sea floor, there is a lump of rock called a seafloor hydrothermal deposit, and it is known that this rock contains valuable metals. Among them, if rare metals such as lead, gold, copper, germanium, gallium, and manganese can be mined from submarine hydrothermal deposits, the procurement of rare metal resources that are considered to be a depletion issue worldwide. Can be expected.

  Technological development for mining the seabed and pumping valuable metals has been carried out. However, in reality, there is only a track record of mining the bottom of the sea with a depth of 100m or less using an underwater bulldozer or dredger. There is no track record.

  A riser pipe type pumping system is known as a technique for pumping ore mined on the seabed at a depth of 500 m or more (for example, see Patent Document 1). The pumping system disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a U-shaped pipe vertically held from the deep sea floor to the sea surface, a pump for forming a flow of seawater in the U-shaped pipe, and ore mined on the sea floor in the U-shaped pipe. Equipped with a collecting machine to feed. Then, seawater is transported from one end of the U-shaped pipe to the other end by a pump provided in the pumping mother ship, thereby forming a circulating flow of seawater in the U-shaped pipe. Transport slurry.

  However, as the water depth becomes deeper, the length of the U-shaped pipe becomes longer, and the flow velocity in the pipe for transporting the ore to the sea is required, so the pressure in the pipe becomes higher than the pressure at the bottom of the sea. . Therefore, in the case of the ore system disclosed in Patent Document 1, normally, a pressure adjusting mechanism for injecting ore into the U-shaped pipe from a collector arranged on the seabed, and an open / close valve for injecting ore are provided. A separate room is required. However, Patent Document 1 only shows a structure in which a U-shaped pipe is inserted through a collection hose connected to a collection machine, and does not specify how pressure adjustment is performed. .

  In addition, the surface of the deep sea floor is not pressed against the surface due to the buoyancy of seawater. Furthermore, the device itself is also affected by buoyancy. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to fix a device used on the seabed to the seabed. In addition, when the device arranged on the seabed is a submersible pump as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 2, the device itself rotates or moves laterally due to the influence of the rotational moment during driving. There is. The same problem arises when the device is not placed on the seabed but is suspended near the seabed using, for example, a crane.

JP 2003-269070 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-25128

  That is, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem given as an example, and the object thereof is a pumping system for pumping valuable materials (for example, ore) mined on the seabed, It is an object of the present invention to provide a pumping system capable of stably arranging a pumping apparatus having a rotationally driven mechanism at or near the seabed.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a pumping system provided with a pumping device having a simplified configuration for stable placement at or near the seabed.

  The pumping system of the present invention is a pumping base that is installed from the pumping base on the sea and from the pumping base to the seabed, and transports seawater containing valuable materials mined on the seabed to the pumping base. A transfer pipe, a separator that separates valuable materials and seabed seawater, a transfer pipe that is disposed from the ore base to the seabed and returns seawater from which valuable materials are separated, and seawater from which valuable materials are separated A recirculation pump that feeds the wastewater into a transfer pipe for circulation, and a pumping device that has a submersible pump that is disposed on the seabed and sucks valuable materials together with seafloor seawater from the suction port and feeds them into the transfer pipe for pumping. The pumping device includes a plurality of submersible pumps arranged in parallel, and is characterized in that the number of submersible pumps in which the impeller rotates clockwise is equal to the number of submersible pumps in which the impeller rotates counterclockwise.

  The above-mentioned pumping device further includes a plurality of hydromotors driven by seawater returned to the seabed through a circulation transfer pipe. These hydromotors are arranged in parallel, and the hydrovanes whose internal rotating blades rotate clockwise. It is possible to make the number of motors equal to the number of hydromotors whose internal rotating blades rotate counterclockwise. In this case, it is possible to have an even number of sets of submersible pumps and hydromotors in which the impeller and rotating blades are coaxially connected.

  Furthermore, in order to suppress the movement of the device due to the flow of seawater sucked into the ore equipment and the flow of seawater discharged outside the device, the suction port of the submersible pump and the seawater discharge port of the hydro motor are It can be arranged in such a way that the forces of the respective water flows against the mining device cancel out.

  According to the present invention, a plurality (for example, even number) of submersible pumps that suck in valuable materials together with sea water from the suction port and send them to the transfer pipe for pumping are arranged in parallel in the pumping device, and clockwise. By making the number of submersible pumps rotating the impeller equal to the number of submersible pumps rotating the impeller counterclockwise, the effects on the device caused by the rotation of the impeller can be offset between these submersible pumps. it can. As a result, the device itself can be prevented from rotating or laterally moving, and the pumping device can be stably arranged on the seabed.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, a submersible pump is arranged in parallel in the apparatus, and the number of submersible pumps in which the impeller rotates clockwise and the number of submersible pumps in which the impeller rotates counterclockwise are the same as each other. It is possible to stably arrange the pumping equipment.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a pumping system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. A pumping device of the above pumping system. This is a pumping equipment equipped with two submersible pumps and hydromotors. It is a piping system diagram of the circulation pump of the above-mentioned pumping system. This is a pumping equipment equipped with a submersible pump and a hydromotor. It is an effect | action figure of the said mining apparatus. This is a pumping equipment equipped with 4 submersible pumps and hydromotors. This is a pumping equipment equipped with 4 submersible pumps and hydromotors. It is a whole block diagram of the pumping system by 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, a pumping system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, taking a pumping system that pumps ore from the seabed as an example. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not construed as being limited by the embodiments described below.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a pumping system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. A pumping system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a pumping base 2 disposed on the sea, a pumping device 3 disposed on the seabed, and a transfer pipe 4 that transfers seawater between the pumping base 2 and the pumping device 3. including. The transfer pipe 4 to be arranged from the pumping base 2 to the seabed is a pumping pipe 41 for pumping the mined ore together with seawater to the pumping base 2 and the seawater from which the ore is separated at the pumping base 2. A transfer pipe 42 for returning to the seabed (for returning) is included.

  Since the ocean is affected by tidal currents and the like, a flexible riser tube (flexible riser) is generally used as the transfer tube 4 (41, 42). Therefore, for convenience of explanation, the transfer pipe 41 for uplifting is referred to as a “lifting riser”, and the transfer pipe 42 for circulation (for return) is referred to as a “return riser”. However, the transfer pipe 4 (41, 42) is not limited to the flexible riser, and may be a straight pipe riser or a general pipe or pipeline.

  The pumping base 2 is generally a ship (a pumping mother ship), and is anchored on the ocean in the target sea area for pumping. However, it is not limited to a ship and may be a platform constructed on the sea.

  In the pumping base 2, a separator 21 that separates the ore that is slurry-transferred from the seabed via the pumping riser 41 from seawater is disposed. In FIG. 1, the separator 21 constituted by a continuous overflow tank is illustrated as an example, but it is not limited to the overflow tank as long as the ore and seawater can be separated. Other examples of the separator 21 include a cyclone, a filtration device, and a sieve. Considering the influence on the ecosystem, it is preferable to return substances and components other than the target valuable metal to the seabed through the return riser 42 together with seawater.

  Further, the pumping base 2 is provided with a circulation pump 22 for feeding the seawater from which the ore has been separated by the separator 21 to the return riser 42. The circulation pump 22 is preferably a slurry pump, but is not particularly limited.

  Next, the pumping device 3 arranged on the seabed will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, a pumping apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment includes a submersible pump 31, a hydromotor 32 that drives the submersible pump 31, and a coupling mechanism 33 that transmits power from the hydromotor 32 to the submersible pump 31 (for example, , Rotation axis). As an example, it is possible to use a known submersible pump motor for slurry transfer in which a hydromotor is replaced. In FIG. 2, the conceptual diagram at the time of using the dredge pump as an example of the submersible pump 31 is shown.

  In this case, the submersible pump 31 has an impeller 31b disposed in, for example, a spiral-shaped (cochlea) casing 31a, and sucks the ore mined from the suction portion (so-called suction nozzle) 31c together with seawater. The discharge section (so-called discharge nozzle) 31d of the submersible pump 31 is connected to the ore riser 41. The ore to be sucked is obtained by pulverizing a hydrothermal deposit with a mining machine (not shown).

  The hydro motor 32 is a motor that uses a water flow as a power source, unlike an electric motor that uses electricity as a drive source. As the hydromotor 32, for example, a water wheel can be used. FIG. 2 shows a conceptual diagram when a Francis turbine is used as an example of the hydromotor 32. In the present embodiment, seawater (returned seawater) returned to the seabed through the return riser 42 is used as driving water for the hydromotor 32. As an example, the hydro motor 32 includes, for example, a rotary blade 32b disposed inside a spiral (cochlea) casing 32a, an introduction port 32c for introducing power water into the casing 32a, and power water from the casing 32a. The impeller 31b of the submersible pump 31 is configured to rotate via the rotating shaft of the coupling mechanism 33 when the rotating blade 32b rotates. The rotation axis of the coupling mechanism 33 is not limited to one axis, and for example, a gear or the like may be arranged in the middle. Furthermore, the submersible pump 31 and the hydromotor 32 do not necessarily have to be arranged on a straight axis as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 2 shows a so-called horizontal axis single-wheel single-flow spiral type Francis turbine as an example of the Francis turbine. However, the turbine axis may be a vertical axis, and the turbine liner may be two wheels. The discharge may be double flow. Further, the casing may be a front opening or a side opening.

  The ore pumping apparatus 3 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of sets of submersible pumps 31 and hydromotors 32 arranged coaxially by a coupling mechanism 33 (e.g., 2, 4, 6, 8, or the like). And more) Even numbers are preferred, but odd numbers are not excluded. The plurality of submersible pumps 31 and the hydromotor 32 are fixedly arranged inside a support frame or casing formed in a cubic shape, for example. You may make it fix the casings 31a of the adjacent submersible pumps 31 and the casings 32a of the hydromotor 32, for example using a connection member, without using a support frame or a casing. In FIG. 3, as a preferred example, two submersible pumps 31 (31A, 31B) and hydromotors 32 (32A, 32B) are arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction and fixed to the support frame 34 by a support member (not shown). The configuration is shown. FIG. 3 shows only the outer contour of the support frame 34.

  In the pumping device 3 of the present embodiment, the submersible pump 31 (31A, 31B) and the hydromotor 32 (32A, 32B) are arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction, and the rotation direction of the impeller 31b of the adjacent submersible pump 31 Are symmetric, and the rotation direction of the rotating blades 32b of the adjacent hydro motors 32 is symmetric. That is, the number of submersible pumps 31 in which the impeller 31b rotates clockwise, and the number of submersible pumps 31 in which the impeller 31b rotates counterclockwise and the rotary blades 32b rotate clockwise, and the rotary vanes 32b The number of hydromotors 32 rotating counterclockwise is equal. In FIG. 3, the submersible pump 31A is counterclockwise, and the submersible pump 31B is clockwise. However, there is no particular limitation on which of the left and right sides is clockwise / counterclockwise.

  Adjacent submersible pumps 31 (31A, 31B) preferably have the same pump type and pumping capacity except that they have a symmetrical structure. Similarly, it is preferable that the adjacent hydro motors 32 (32A, 32B) have the same motor type and motor capacity except that they have a symmetrical structure. In FIG. 3, the submersible pump 31 and the hydro motor 32 in which the sizes of the impeller 31 b and the rotary blade 32 b are approximately the same are arranged as a preferred example, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  The discharge nozzle 31d of each submersible pump 31 is connected to one pumping riser 41 via a collective header. Further, the introduction port 32c of each hydromotor 32 is connected to one return riser 42 via a distribution header. The distribution header on the side of the hydro motor 32 has, for example, a valve disposed on each branch path, and the drive water is supplied to each hydro motor 32 evenly by adjusting the opening of the valve, for example. Thereby, the rotation speed of the rotary blade 32b of each hydromotor 32 becomes equal, and therefore the rotation speed of the impeller 31b of each submersible pump 31 becomes equal.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the uplift riser 41 and the return riser 42 are connected to each other on the seabed side by a bypass pipe 43. Further, a switching valve 44 such as a three-way valve is disposed at a connecting portion between the return riser 42 and the bypass pipe 43 and a connecting portion between the uplift riser 41 and the bypass pipe 43. In such a configuration, for example, when a malfunction of the pumping device 3 or a blockage of ore in the pumping riser 41 occurs, the seawater returned to the seabed by the return riser 42 passes through the bypass pipe 43 to the pumping riser 41. The switching valve 44 is controlled so as to be supplied. The switching valve 44 can be controlled, for example, by connecting the ore base 2 and the switching valve 44 with a signal line and remotely operating from the ore base 2. However, the bypass pipe 43 and the switching valve 44 are not necessarily provided.

  Next, the piping system of the circulation pump 22 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the suction part (so-called suction nozzle) of the circulation pump 22 has a suction line 22 a for sucking seawater from which ore has been separated by the separator 21, and a suction line for sucking seawater near the sea surface. 22b is connected. The suction line 22b for sucking seawater in the vicinity of the sea surface is used to compensate for the efficiency loss of the submersible pump 31 and the hydro motor 32 that constitute the pumping device 3, and to stably drive the pumping device 3. is there.

  Specifically, the flow rate of seawater sent to the return riser 42 by the circulation pump 22 is V1, and the flow rate of seawater sent by the submersible pump 31 to the pumping riser 41 (that is, the flow rate of seawater pumped to the pumping base 2) is V2. Then, V1 is set to be larger than V2. The difference (ΔV = V1−V2) between V1 and V2 is sucked through the suction line 22b.

  That is, the pumping device 3 has a structure in which seawater returned to the seabed is used as driving water and pumped using the submersible pump 31 and the hydromotor 32, so that the efficiency of the pump and the motor is reduced or the amount of ore is reduced. If it fluctuates, it will not be possible to maintain a balance between the amount of seawater to be pumped and the amount of seawater to be returned to the seabed, and stable pumping will not be possible. As a countermeasure, in this embodiment, an amount of seawater equal to or greater than the amount (ΔV) commensurate with the sum of the loss due to the pump efficiency of the submersible pump 31 and the loss due to the motor efficiency of the hydromotor 32 is used. The return riser 42 can be fed into the structure. The flow rate adjusting means is, for example, a return riser 42 or a flow rate adjusting valve (not shown) provided in the suction lines 22a and 22b. An inverter that controls the output of the circulation pump 22 may be used. The suction line 22b is also used to suck in seawater that initially drives the hydromotor 32.

  A procedure for unloading ore from the sea floor using the above-described pumping system 1 will be described. First, using the crane (not shown) installed in the ore base 2, the ore equipment 3, the riser 41, and the return riser 42 are arranged as shown in FIG. The pumping device 3 may be hung near the seabed using, for example, a crane. The water depth to be pumped is, for example, 800 to 2000 m. The ore sucked by the submersible pump 31 is ore that is crushed from the hydrothermal deposit by a mining machine and collected on the seabed by a collecting machine. A well-known thing can be used for a mining machine and a collector.

  Although not limited, as an example, using a flexible riser with an aperture of 8 inches, ore crushed to 20 mm or less is sucked with each submersible pump 31, and the inside of the pumping riser 41 is flowed at a flow rate of 3.7 m / s. Can be transported. At this time, it can be transferred in a slurry state in which the mass ratio of seawater to ore is about 9: 1.

  The ore sucked by each submersible pump 31 is sent to the uplifting riser 41 through, for example, a collective header, and is transferred to the uplift base 2 through the uplifting riser 41. Seawater containing ore pumped up to the pumping base 2 is supplied to the separator 21. In the case of the separator 21 shown in FIG. 1, the ore and seawater are separated by the difference in specific gravity between the ore and seawater. The seawater from which the ore has been separated is sent to the return riser 42 by the circulation pump 22 and transferred to the seabed through the return riser 42. And it distributes so that flow volume may become equal by the distribution header, Then, it supplies to each hydro motor 32 as drive water. Eventually, the seawater will be returned to its original depth. Therefore, marine pollution can be prevented and adverse effects on the ecosystem can be suppressed.

  As described above, according to the pumping system 1 according to the present embodiment, it is easy to input ore to the pumping riser 41 by using the submersible pump 31 and the hydromotor 32 in the pumping device 3 arranged on the seabed. There is an advantage that can be. However, in order to carry out the pumping from the deep sea more stably, it is necessary that the pumping device 3 is stably arranged. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when the submersible pump 31 and the hydromotor 32 are set as one set, the rotational moment of the impeller 31b and the rotating blade 32b rotating at a high speed acts in one direction, so that the ore pumping device 3 itself rotates or There is concern about lateral movement.

  Therefore, the pumping device 3 according to the present embodiment has two submersible pumps 31 and hydromotors 32 arranged side by side in parallel when the submersible pump 31 and the hydromotor 32 connected coaxially are set as one set. The rotation direction of the impeller 31b of the adjacent submersible pump 31 is left-right symmetric, and the rotation direction of the rotary blade 32b of the adjacent hydro motor 32 is left-right symmetric. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the rotational moments can be offset between adjacent submersible pumps 31, and the rotational moment can be canceled between adjacent hydromotors 32. Therefore, it is possible to suppress a biased rotational moment from acting on the ore-exiting device 3 itself, and to prevent the ore-exiting device 3 itself from rotating or laterally moving.

  FIG. 3 shows a configuration in which the ore pumping device 3 has two types of submersible pumps 31 and hydromotors 32. For example, when the four types of submersible pumps 31 and hydromotors 32 are used, as shown in FIG. The configuration is given as an example. That is, all of the four submersible pumps 31 and the hydromotors 32 can be arranged in parallel in the lateral direction, or the two submersible pumps 31 and the hydromotors 32 can be arranged up and down. Further, when all of the four submersible pumps 31 and the hydromotors 32 are arranged in parallel in the lateral direction, the rotation directions of the impellers 31b and the hydromotors 32b are symmetrical with respect to all the adjacent submersible pumps 31 and hydromotors 32. The rotation direction of the group of submersible pumps 31 and hydromotors 32 located on the left side with respect to the center line, and the group of submersible pumps 31 and hydromotors 32 located on the right side with respect to the center line can also be arranged. Can be arranged so as to be symmetrical. At this time, the rotation directions of the submersible pump 31 and the hydro motor 32 in the group are the same. Even with such a configuration, the rotational moment is offset when viewed from the entire apparatus, and thus the above-described effect can be obtained. The same applies to four or more types.

  In the pumping device 3 shown in FIG. 3, the suction port 31c for sucking ore and seawater and the discharge port 32d for discharging the power water are arranged on the same axis. For example, a U-shaped tube is provided at the discharge port 32d. By connecting, the discharge port 32d may be directed toward the suction port 31c. That is, it is set as the structure by which the direction of the suction inlet 31c and the discharge outlet 32d was set so that the suction direction and discharge direction of seawater might mutually oppose. If it is set as such a structure, the reaction force which acts on the lifting apparatus 3 when discharging seawater can be weakened by the attractive force which acts on the lifting apparatus 3 when inhaling seawater. As a result, in addition to the influence of the rotational moment, the influence of the water flow acting on the ore-exiting device 3 can also be suppressed, and it becomes possible to stably arrange the ore-exiting device 3 more reliably. In the case of the four types, for example, by arranging as shown in FIG. 8, the reaction force acting on the device when seawater is discharged can be weakened by the attractive force acting on the device when seawater is sucked. In addition, the arrow described in the position of the connection mechanism 33 in a figure shows the rotation direction of a rotating shaft.

  As described above, the pumping apparatus 3 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of submersible pumps 31 and a hydromotor 32. In this case, although the number of submersible pumps 31 and hydromotors 32 increases, small submersible pumps 31 and hydromotors 32 can be used as long as the flow rate of seawater in the pumping riser 41 is the same. Furthermore, if the number is increased by using small submersible pumps 31 and hydromotors 32, even if one of the submersible pumps 31 and hydromotors 32 breaks down on the seabed, for example, the reduction in total pumping capacity can be suppressed. There is an advantage.

  The above-described pumping device 3 includes a hydromotor 32 that uses seawater returned to the seabed as a drive source. By having the hydro motor 32, the ore excavation system 1 of this embodiment can save the power required for the ore. However, the submersible pump 31 is not necessarily driven by the hydromotor 32, and may be a general submersible pump 31 driven by an electric motor such as a motor. Also in this case, by arranging the adjacent submersible pumps 31 in parallel in the left-right direction, the rotational moment can be offset, and the ore pumping device 3 can be stably arranged.

(Second Embodiment)
The present embodiment is a modification of the ore-exiting device 3, and has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except that the mining machine 5 and the ore-extracting device 3 are connected. Therefore, the detailed description of the configuration supplied with the first embodiment is omitted by giving the same reference numerals.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the ore mining apparatus 3 according to this embodiment is connected to a mining machine 5 for collecting the ore mined by the mining machine, and collects the ore while the mining machine 5 moves on the seabed. The pumping device 3 pumps it up to the sea.

  More specifically, the mining machine 5 has a main body 51, a moving caterpillar 52, and a mining head 53 having a suction port for sucking ore. And the suction part 31c of each submersible pump 31 and the collection head 53 are connected via the collection hose 54 and distribution headers (not shown), such as a flexible hose, for example. Therefore, the ore and the seawater can be sucked from the collection head 53 by using the suction force of the submersible pump 31 while the collection machine 5 moves on the seabed.

  Even if comprised like this embodiment, it can suppress that the ore-lifting apparatus 3 rotates, and the effect similar to 1st Embodiment can be acquired. Furthermore, if comprised like this embodiment, a mining operation and a pumping operation can be performed simultaneously, and there exists an advantage which work efficiency improves.

  Furthermore, instead of the mining machine 5 shown in FIG. 9, a mining machine for mining ore may be connected to the ore-exiting device 3. As an example of the mining machine, a machine having the same structure as the mining machine 5 having the mining head can be used instead of the mining head. Therefore, by connecting the collection hose 54 such as a flexible hose to the mining head, mining and pumping can be performed simultaneously.

  Moreover, the above-mentioned embodiment has illustrated the pumping system suitable for pumping ore from the seabed in slurry form. However, it goes without saying that the system can be applied to the pumping of valuable materials existing on the seabed, whether solid or liquid.

  The hydro motor 32 is not limited to the Francis turbine. In addition, the configuration is not limited to the configuration in which the driving force of the hydromotor 32 is transmitted to the submersible pump 31 through the rotating shaft. For example, the submersible pump 31 may be driven using the generated electric power using a submersible generator-integrated water turbine. Good. In this case, a submersible pump 31 with an electric motor is used. Furthermore, it is not necessary to use all of the generated electric power for the submersible pump 31, and for example, it may be used for other power (for example, a controller) of the mining device 3, power of the mining machine 5 or the mining machine. .

  Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to specific embodiments, various substitutions, modifications, changes, etc. in form and detail are defined in the claims. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this can be done without departing from the spirit and scope. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the above-described embodiments and the accompanying drawings, but should be determined based on the description of the claims and equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pumping system 2 Pumping base 21 Separator 22 Circulation pump 3 Pumping equipment 31 (31A, 31B) Submersible pump 31b Impeller 32 (32A, 32B) Hydro motor 32b Rotary blade 4 Transfer pipe 41 Lifting riser 42 Return riser 43 Bypass Tube 5 Collector

Claims (4)

A pumping base located at sea,
A transfer pipe for pumping that is located from the pumping base to the seabed and transports seawater containing valuables mined on the seabed to the pumping base;
A separator that separates valuable materials from seawater;
A transfer pipe for circulating the seawater from which the valuables have been separated to the seabed, which is arranged from the pumping base to the seabed;
A circulation pump that feeds seawater from which valuables have been separated into a transfer pipe;
A pumping device that has a submersible pump that is disposed on the seabed and sucks valuables together with seawater from the suction port and feeds it into a transfer pipe for pumping;
The pumping device includes a plurality of submersible pumps arranged in parallel, and the number of submersible pumps in which the impeller rotates clockwise is equal to the number of submersible pumps in which the impeller rotates counterclockwise. Mining system.   The above-mentioned pumping device further includes a plurality of hydromotors driven by seawater returned to the seabed through a circulation transfer pipe. These hydromotors are arranged in parallel, and the internal rotary blades rotate clockwise. The pumping system according to claim 1, wherein the number of motors is equal to the number of hydromotors whose internal rotating blades rotate counterclockwise.   3. The pumping system according to claim 2, wherein the pumping system has an even number set of a submersible pump and a hydromotor in which the impeller and the rotary blade are coaxially connected.   The suction port of the submersible pump and the seawater discharge port of the hydromotor are arranged so that the suction direction and the discharge direction of the seawater cancel each other out of the force of the water flow with respect to the ore pumping device. Or the pumping system of 3.

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