JPH06240652A - Oil absorption for spillage oil - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform smooth suction of oil when oil flows out owing to the accident, such as grounding and collision, of an oil tank. CONSTITUTION:Sea water is pumped up from a ship S with the aid of a pump P and an oil absorbent material (a) is fed in water W below an oil film O from a tank T by means of sea water serving as a medium. Through the feed thereof, the oil absorbent material (a) is diffused on sea water, and floats and is positioned between the oil film O and a water surface without sucking water owing to water repellency. When, with this state, wave motion occurs, the oil film O and a water surface are caused to wave, and the oil absorbent material (a) is compulsorily brought into reliable contact with the oil film O to absorb the oil. Namely, oil absorbing efficiency is improved and there is no fear of the oil absorbing material being flied and secondary pollution occurring like spraying of it over the upper surface of the oil film. Pulp fibers or paper cotton on which water repellent treatment is applied are used as the oil absorbent material (a).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an oil absorption method for an oil spill in an accident such as a grounding or collision of an oil tanker, as well as other accidents such as in a port.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, as environmental pollution is being called for, agrounding of oil-carrying tankers and collision accidents occur one after another, a large amount of oil flows out into the sea, and the recovery of the spilled oil has become a global problem. .

Conventionally, the spilled oil is collected by surrounding the spilled oil with an oil fence, sending an oil adsorption mat to the oil therein, or spraying an oil treatment agent to adsorb the oil on the mat or the treatment agent. Then, the adsorbed substance is collected and treated, or a roll is run on an oil film to attach oil to the roll and scoop it up.

However, the dispersal of the dispersant is carried out on the upper surface of the oil film and is scattered by wind or the like, which causes a problem of secondary pollution. In addition, since the matte recovery and the roll recovery are adsorption / adhesion from the upper surface of the oil film, the wave does not smoothly contact with the oil, resulting in a problem of poor recovery efficiency. Normally, at an oil spill accident site, wind and rain are tight and the waves are high,
The scattering is also severe, and the contact efficiency is extremely poor.

Further, most oil spill accidents are spills of crude oil or heavy oil, and since these oils have high viscosity, on the water surface,
An oil film having a thickness of about 5 cm is formed. Adsorption from the upper surface of a viscous oil film having this layer thickness is inferior in efficiency due to viscosity, and the efficiency is also lowered due to the decrease in the contact efficiency. Also, oil particles are dispersed in water below the oil film, but these oil particles cannot be adsorbed by simply contacting them from above the oil film.

Under such circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide an oil absorption method having a good recovery rate of spilled oil regardless of the weather.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, an oil-absorbing material which is lighter than water and water-repellent is fed into the water surface below the oil spill film, and the buoyancy thereof causes It was located between the spilled oil film and the water surface, and adopted a configuration in which the oil-absorbing material was brought into contact with the spilled oil and absorbed by the vibration.

The above oil absorbing material is preferably pollution-free both before and after oil absorption, and as far as possible, it is made of a material and a shape having a large amount of oil absorption. For example, water-repellent pulp fiber or paper cotton powder, cotton, kapok (kapok seed seed fiber that grows in the tropics and subtropics), bird hair (chicken feathers), animal hair such as wool. It is powder. These are not limited to powders, but sheets, strips made by shredding the sheets,
It may be in the form of a block, a string, or the like. Also, a petroleum-based artificial water-repellent oil-absorbent material,
For example, polypropylene fiber or the like may be used.

By the way, the oil absorption rate is 25 to
30 times, water-repellent treated cotton: 10 to 13 times, polypropylene fiber: 10 times (weight ratio).

[0010]

In the oil-absorbing method according to the present invention having such a structure, since the oil-absorbing material is water-repellent, even if it is sent into water, it floats up without absorbing water and is positioned between the oil film and the water surface.

In this state, if the water surface and the oil film sway due to the wave motion, the oil will surely come into contact with the oil absorbing material and adsorb it. That is, the wave action that has been an obstacle to the adsorption action in the past promotes the adsorption action. The adsorbent whose adsorption power is saturated is collected by the same method as the conventional mat and treating agent.

Further, since the oil absorbing material is sent into the water,
Oil particles dispersed in water are also adsorbed during the floating of the oil absorbing material, and the water is purified.

The depth of water admitted to the adsorbent depends on the oil film thickness,
Although it varies depending on the oil property, environment, etc., generally, about 1 to 10 m below the spilled oil surface is preferable.

[Embodiment 1] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1A, an oil absorbing material a is filled in a capsule A, and the capsule A is filled with an oil film O from the air of a ship or a helicopter.
It is dropped on top and sent to underwater (underwater) W.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the capsule A has
It is made of a material d that is water-soluble, such as a paper tube, that does not cause marine pollution even when dropped into water, and puts a weight of sand b etc. An oil absorbing material a such as fiber is filled and the opening is sealed with ultrathin paper c. The size and shape are appropriately determined in consideration of transportability, feedability, diffusibility of the oil absorbing material a, and the like.

When this capsule A is dropped onto an oil film O surrounded by an oil fence, as shown in FIG.
It pierces the oil film O by its own weight and underwater (seawater) W
Then, the ultra-thin paper c breaks at the required depth, and the oil absorbing material a exits from the capsule A and diffuses. The diffused oil absorbing material a is water-repellent and therefore does not absorb water and floats with buoyancy and is positioned between the oil film O and the water surface.

In this state, if a wave is generated, the oil film O and the water surface sway, and the oil absorbing material a surely touches the oil film O and adsorbs the oil.

On the other hand, the capsule A from which the oil absorbing material a has flowed out descends in the sea due to its weight, and melts to return to the natural state.

[Embodiment 2] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the oil absorbing material a is sent from above the ship S by a hose H. That is, on the ship S, the oil absorbing material a
The tank T of is set and the seawater is pumped up by the pump P.
Using the seawater as a medium, the oil absorbing material a is transferred from the hose H to the oil film O.
Send it to the underwater W below. By this feeding, the oil absorbing material a is diffused in seawater, and thereafter, the oil absorbing function is performed in the same manner as the operation of the first embodiment.

It is possible to send in air as a medium instead of using seawater.

[Embodiment 3] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the oil absorbing material a is fed from an airship R or the like which can be stopped in the air. The oil absorbing material a is sent into the water below the oil film O by the hose H using the air of D as a medium. After being sent, oil is absorbed by the same action as described above. It should be noted that the hose H is provided with a weight F so that the mouth of the hose H is surely in the water W. A fan may be used instead of the air cylinder D.

[Embodiment 4] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the submarine G guides the capsule A under the oil film O to diffuse the oil absorbing material a from the capsule A into seawater.

The submersible boat G is remotely controllable from an airplane or a ship, and has a hole covered with the ultra-thin paper c on the upper surface and a capsule A filled with an oil absorbing material a having a weight b at the bottom. The oil absorbing material a is diffused from the capsule A by submerging underneath the oil film O by subtracting the required number. After the diffusion, oil absorption is performed by the same action as described above.

Since the capsule A of this embodiment is recovered, an insoluble material such as plastics may be used.

By the way, today, oil tankers are obliged to have a double bottom (double hull) structure. If the space between the double bottoms is filled with the oil absorbing material a such as paper pulp fiber, the hull is damaged. As a result, when the oil flows out, the oil absorbing material a is spilled and flows out, and from the initial outflow, the spilled oil is adsorbed by the oil absorbing material to form a lump, which is an effect that can be smoothly recovered.

[0026]

The present invention is constructed as described above, and the oil absorbing material is fed into the water so that the oil is absorbed from the lower surface of the oil film. Utilizing this, a smooth oil absorption effect can be achieved. Therefore, the recovery efficiency of the spilled oil is improved, which is effective for early prevention of marine pollution.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is an explanatory view of the operation of one embodiment, and b is a sectional view of the capsule.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the operation of another embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the operation of another embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the operation of another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Capsule D Air cylinder F Weight G Submarine H Hose O Oil film P Pump R Airship S Ship T Tank W Underwater (seawater) a Oil Absorbing material b Sand (weight) c Ultra-thin paper

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An oil-absorbing material that is lighter than water and water-repellent is fed into the water surface below the spilled oil film, and is positioned between the spilled oil film and the water surface due to its buoyancy. A method for absorbing spilled oil, which comprises contacting and absorbing oil.