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WO2001069033A2 - Oil-recovery device - Google Patents

Oil-recovery device Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2001069033A2
WO2001069033A2 PCT/FI2001/000250 FI0100250W WO0169033A2 WO 2001069033 A2 WO2001069033 A2 WO 2001069033A2 FI 0100250 W FI0100250 W FI 0100250W WO 0169033 A2 WO0169033 A2 WO 0169033A2
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
oil
water
hose
blade wheel
frame
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/FI2001/000250
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
WO2001069033A3 (en
Inventor
Sune Lundin
Original Assignee
Larsen, Bent
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Larsen, Bent filed Critical Larsen, Bent
Priority to AU2001246585A priority Critical patent/AU2001246585A1/en
Publication of WO2001069033A2 publication Critical patent/WO2001069033A2/en
Publication of WO2001069033A3 publication Critical patent/WO2001069033A3/en

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
    • B63C—LAUNCHING, HAULING-OUT, OR DRY-DOCKING OF VESSELS; LIFE-SAVING IN WATER; EQUIPMENT FOR DWELLING OR WORKING UNDER WATER; MEANS FOR SALVAGING OR SEARCHING FOR UNDERWATER OBJECTS
    • B63C7/00—Salvaging of disabled, stranded, or sunken vessels; Salvaging of vessel parts or furnishings, e.g. of safes; Salvaging of other underwater objects
    • B63C7/006—Emptying the contents of sunken, stranded, or disabled vessels, e.g. by engaging the vessel; Underwater collecting of buoyant contents, such as liquid, particulate or gaseous contents, escaping from sunken vessels, e.g. using funnels, or tents for recovery of escaping hydrocarbons
    • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
    • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
    • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
    • E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
    • E21B43/01—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells specially adapted for obtaining from underwater installations
    • E21B43/0122—Collecting oil or the like from a submerged leakage
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02A—TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02A20/00—Water conservation; Efficient water supply; Efficient water use
    • Y02A20/20—Controlling water pollution; Waste water treatment
    • Y02A20/204—Keeping clear the surface of open water from oil spills

Definitions

  • the invention relates to removing oil or the like from sunken ship wrecks or the like.
  • sunken oil tanker and ship wrecks have become time bombs from the viewpoint of nature conservation. With time, the ships rust and oil starts to leak out of them. As a result of this, wide water and shore areas are continuously threatened by oil pollution.
  • the authorities in industrial countries in particular have started to perceive the arisen problems and taken action to empty the oil-containing wrecks at the bottom of the sea.
  • the docking system of drainage hoses between a control ship and wreck has been developed to a technically high level. It has also been possible to remove light or medium-light oils from fuel tanks reasonably well by the present emptying methods. Heavier oils have instead only been removed by great effort and in small amounts from the wrecks.
  • the purpose of this invention is to provide a device which by means of water or the like helps an oil breaker to rotate and oil or the like to emulsify. Oil in emulsified form is easier to pump out of the wreck or the like.
  • the basic structure of the device comprises a frame to which a shaft is fastened for providing a bearing for a blade wheel.
  • the device is attached to the end of a hose assembly comprising a suction hose and water hose or hoses.
  • the suction hose attached to the frame is for draining the emulsified oil. Water is led to nozzles in a sealing ring, for instance.
  • the number of required hoses and nozzles depends on the required amount of propulsion force and water.
  • Blades fastened between two drum walls form the blade wheel surrounding the frame, one end of the blade wheel rotates on the shaft bearing and the other end in a groove of the sealing ring.
  • An oil breaker or the like the operating radius of which widens when increasing the centrifugal force, can be mounted on the blade wheel.
  • the rotating movement of the oil breaker and the water spray generated by the feed water required for emulsification together break the oil and emulsify it.
  • Increasing the water temperature intensifies oil processing and emulsification.
  • a separate cutter or the like which intensifies oil emulsification and thus its pumping out, can be fastened to the shaft.
  • a motor for instance, can be connected to the shaft end to assist in rotating the blade wheel.
  • Control nozzles for controlling the device in a required manner in the tank space can be placed in the sealing ring, for instance. The operation is performed by lowering from a control ship a docking system attached to a control hose and fastening it to a wreck. The end of the control hose which is above the water surface can be fastened to a floating buoy system. This way, the control ship can more easily be moved away because of heavy winds or other hazards, and refastened. Inside the control hose, a hose assembly having a device for oil emulsification fastened to it is lowered into the tank of the wreck.
  • the hose assembly can be moved inside the control hose.
  • the control nozzle steers the device sidewards in the tank space.
  • water is pumped into the water hoses through the sealing ring to the blade wheel which creates a rotating movement with its blades.
  • the emulsified oil mixture is pumped through the suction hose for separation.
  • Known brush technology can be use in separation.
  • Warm water can be taken from the condensation water of the main engine of the service ship, for instance.
  • the oil breaker spread by the centrifugal force provides the advantage that the diameter of the control hose can be minimized.
  • the device can be modified as required by a person skilled in the art.
  • the bearings can be mounted around the frame, whereby the emulsified oil can be made to move more freely in the frame. Steam pressure can be used instead of water pumped from the service ship and brushes can be fastened to the tip of the oil breaker.
  • FIG 1a shows a docking system (2) lowered to a service ship and having a control hose (3) attached to it, inside which is a hose assembly (4), to which a device (5) is attached to pump oil from the tank of a wreck (6), and a buoy system (18),
  • Figure 2a shows a suction hose (8) and shaft (9) and motor (19) attached to a frame (7)
  • Figure 2b shows a bottom view of the suction hose (8) and shaft (9) and motor (19) attached to the frame (7),
  • Figure 3a shows a partial cross-section of a sealing ring (11 ) and a water hose (10) attached to it, the suction hose (8) and the shaft (9) attached to the frame (7),
  • Figure 3b shows a top view of the sealing ring (11 ) with the water hose (10) attached to it, and the suction hose (8) and the shaft (9) attached to the frame (7),
  • Figure 4a shows a side view of a blade wheel (12) with wings (13)
  • Figure 4b shows a top view of the blade wheel (12) with wings (13)
  • Figure 5a shows a cross-section of the frame (7), the surrounding sealing ring (11 ) and the blade wheel (12) and the blades (13) to which an oil breaker (15) is fastened, the shaft (9) to which the blade wheel (12) is mounted, and a cutter (14),
  • Figure 5b shows a bottom view of the sealing ring (11 ) surrounding the frame (7), the blade wheel (12) and the blades (13) to which the oil breaker
  • Figure 6a shows a side view of the sealing ring (11 ) having several nozzles (16) and the water hose (10) attached to a nozzle,
  • Figure 6b shows a top view of the sealing ring (11 ) and the nozzles
  • Figure 7a shows a top view of the sealing ring (11 ), the nozzles (16) having the surrounding hoses (10) and a control nozzle attached to them
  • Figure 7b shows a partial cross-section of the sealing ring (11 ), a control nozzle (17) and the nozzles (16) having the water hoses (10) attached to them
  • Figure 8a shows the operation of the device (5), in which water flows in the water hose (10) through the sealing ring (11 ) and the blades (13) of the blade wheel (12) to rotate the oil breaker (15), and exits after emulsification through the frame (7) to the suction hose (8).

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Geology (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
  • Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
  • Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
  • Cleaning Or Clearing Of The Surface Of Open Water (AREA)

Abstract

The purpose of the invention is to provide a device (5) having a suction hose (8) attached to its frame (7), which suction hose is surrounded by a hose or hoses (10) to which water is pumped through nozzles (16) of a sealing ring (11) and on to a blade wheel (12) mounted on a shaft (9), whereby a rotating movement generated by blades (13) emulsifies oil by means of water, an oil breaker (15) and a cutter (14) into a form which can be pumped away. The emulsified oil is pumped from a wreck to a control ship (1) through a hose assembly (4) running inside a control hose (3) attached to a docking system (2) and a buoy system (18). In the tank space, the device (5) can be steered by means of a control nozzle (17). A motor (19) can be connected to the device (5).

Description

OlL-RECOVERY DEVICE
[0001] The invention relates to removing oil or the like from sunken ship wrecks or the like. Internationally seen, sunken oil tanker and ship wrecks have become time bombs from the viewpoint of nature conservation. With time, the ships rust and oil starts to leak out of them. As a result of this, wide water and shore areas are continuously threatened by oil pollution. The authorities in industrial countries in particular have started to perceive the arisen problems and taken action to empty the oil-containing wrecks at the bottom of the sea. The docking system of drainage hoses between a control ship and wreck has been developed to a technically high level. It has also been possible to remove light or medium-light oils from fuel tanks reasonably well by the present emptying methods. Heavier oils have instead only been removed by great effort and in small amounts from the wrecks. The necessary technology for emptying heavy oils from ship wrecks is for the most part still being developed. Unloading technology for emptying underwater cargo holds is expensive and the operation is time-consuming especially when the oil in the tanks is of a heavier type and the oil amount to be removed is thousands of tons. This requires an operationally efficient and easy-to-use device which emulsifies the heavy oil so as to convert the water and oil into a pumpable form. For instance, the principle of Finnish patent application 974058 can, when modified, be used for this purpose.
[0002] The purpose of this invention is to provide a device which by means of water or the like helps an oil breaker to rotate and oil or the like to emulsify. Oil in emulsified form is easier to pump out of the wreck or the like. The basic structure of the device comprises a frame to which a shaft is fastened for providing a bearing for a blade wheel. The device is attached to the end of a hose assembly comprising a suction hose and water hose or hoses. The suction hose attached to the frame is for draining the emulsified oil. Water is led to nozzles in a sealing ring, for instance. The number of required hoses and nozzles depends on the required amount of propulsion force and water. Blades fastened between two drum walls form the blade wheel surrounding the frame, one end of the blade wheel rotates on the shaft bearing and the other end in a groove of the sealing ring. An oil breaker or the like, the operating radius of which widens when increasing the centrifugal force, can be mounted on the blade wheel. The rotating movement of the oil breaker and the water spray generated by the feed water required for emulsification together break the oil and emulsify it. Increasing the water temperature intensifies oil processing and emulsification. A separate cutter or the like, which intensifies oil emulsification and thus its pumping out, can be fastened to the shaft. When very heavy oils, for instance bitumen, need to be emulsified, a motor, for instance, can be connected to the shaft end to assist in rotating the blade wheel. Control nozzles for controlling the device in a required manner in the tank space can be placed in the sealing ring, for instance. The operation is performed by lowering from a control ship a docking system attached to a control hose and fastening it to a wreck. The end of the control hose which is above the water surface can be fastened to a floating buoy system. This way, the control ship can more easily be moved away because of heavy winds or other hazards, and refastened. Inside the control hose, a hose assembly having a device for oil emulsification fastened to it is lowered into the tank of the wreck. When the device is operational, the hose assembly can be moved inside the control hose. The control nozzle steers the device sidewards in the tank space. From the control ship, water is pumped into the water hoses through the sealing ring to the blade wheel which creates a rotating movement with its blades. The emulsified oil mixture is pumped through the suction hose for separation. Known brush technology can be use in separation. Warm water can be taken from the condensation water of the main engine of the service ship, for instance. The oil breaker spread by the centrifugal force provides the advantage that the diameter of the control hose can be minimized. It is clear that the device can be modified as required by a person skilled in the art. For instance, the bearings can be mounted around the frame, whereby the emulsified oil can be made to move more freely in the frame. Steam pressure can be used instead of water pumped from the service ship and brushes can be fastened to the tip of the oil breaker.
[0003] Other properties and advantages of the invention are described in the following by way of example and with reference to the attached drawings in which
Figure 1a shows a docking system (2) lowered to a service ship and having a control hose (3) attached to it, inside which is a hose assembly (4), to which a device (5) is attached to pump oil from the tank of a wreck (6), and a buoy system (18), Figure 2a shows a suction hose (8) and shaft (9) and motor (19) attached to a frame (7), Figure 2b shows a bottom view of the suction hose (8) and shaft (9) and motor (19) attached to the frame (7),
Figure 3a shows a partial cross-section of a sealing ring (11 ) and a water hose (10) attached to it, the suction hose (8) and the shaft (9) attached to the frame (7),
Figure 3b shows a top view of the sealing ring (11 ) with the water hose (10) attached to it, and the suction hose (8) and the shaft (9) attached to the frame (7),
Figure 4a shows a side view of a blade wheel (12) with wings (13), Figure 4b shows a top view of the blade wheel (12) with wings (13),
Figure 5a shows a cross-section of the frame (7), the surrounding sealing ring (11 ) and the blade wheel (12) and the blades (13) to which an oil breaker (15) is fastened, the shaft (9) to which the blade wheel (12) is mounted, and a cutter (14), Figure 5b shows a bottom view of the sealing ring (11 ) surrounding the frame (7), the blade wheel (12) and the blades (13) to which the oil breaker
(15) is fastened, and the shaft (9) to which the blade wheel (12) is mounted, and the cutter (14),
Figure 6a shows a side view of the sealing ring (11 ) having several nozzles (16) and the water hose (10) attached to a nozzle,
Figure 6b shows a top view of the sealing ring (11 ) and the nozzles
(16) having the water hose (10) attached to them,
Figure 7a shows a top view of the sealing ring (11 ), the nozzles (16) having the surrounding hoses (10) and a control nozzle attached to them, Figure 7b shows a partial cross-section of the sealing ring (11 ), a control nozzle (17) and the nozzles (16) having the water hoses (10) attached to them,
Figure 8a shows the operation of the device (5), in which water flows in the water hose (10) through the sealing ring (11 ) and the blades (13) of the blade wheel (12) to rotate the oil breaker (15), and exits after emulsification through the frame (7) to the suction hose (8).

Claims

1. A device (5) comprising a frame (7) to which a suction hose (8) is attached, characterized in that water or the like led into a hose (10) and discharging as a water spray and a simultaneously rotating oil breaker (15) produce together the emulsification of oil or the like.
2. A device (5) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that water or the like led into a hose (10) and discharging as a rotating water spray and a simultaneously rotating oil breaker (15) produce together the emulsification of oil or the like.
3. A device (5) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that water led through hoses (10) attached to nozzles (16) and a sealing ring (11) rotates a blade wheel (12), whereby the oil breaker (15) spreads by means of the centrifugal force.
4. A device (5) as claimed in claim ^ characterized in that the oil breaker (15) fastened to the blade wheel (12) and a cutter (14) emulsify by means of water or the like the oil for pumping it out.
5. A device (5) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the blade wheel (11) surrounding the frame (7), one end of which rotates in a groove of the sealing ring (11), rotates on a shaft (9).
6. A device (5) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the sealing rings (11) have control nozzles (17) for steering the device (5) in a required manner in the tank.
7. A device (5) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that a hose assembly (4) to which the device (5) is attached moves inside a control hose (3) between a buoy system (18) and a docking system (2).
8. A device (5) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that to help rotate the blade wheel (12), a motor (19) can be connected to the shaft (9).
9. A device (5) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the diameter of the control hose (3) can be minimized due to the spreading of the oil breaker (15) by means of the centrifugal force.
10. An oil-recovery apparatus comprising an apparatus (1, 18) above the water surface, which comprises a separation apparatus for separating water and oil from each other, characterized in that the oil-recovery apparatus comprises a device (5) arranged below the water surface, which comprises
- a frame (7) and a blade wheel (12) mounted rotatably in the frame and rotating due to the flow of the water fed into an inlet in the device (5),
- a cutter (14) and protruding part (15) fastened to the blade wheel, which rotate along the blade wheel (12) and assist in emulsifying the oil and pumping it out, and
- a nozzle for recovering the water-oil mixture, and a hose assembly (4) by means of which the apparatus (1 , 18) above the water surface is connected to the device (5) below the water surface, whereby said hose assembly (4) comprises at least a first hose (10) for feeding water into the inlet of said device (5) and a second hose (8) which is connected to said nozzle for pumping the oil-water mixture from the device (5) to the apparatus (1 , 18) above the water surface.
PCT/FI2001/000250 2000-03-15 2001-03-14 Oil-recovery device WO2001069033A2 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2001246585A AU2001246585A1 (en) 2000-03-15 2001-03-14 Oil-recovery device

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FI20000595A FI20000595A0 (en) 2000-03-15 2000-03-15 Apparatus for emulsifying and removing oil
FI20000595 2000-03-15

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2001069033A2 true WO2001069033A2 (en) 2001-09-20
WO2001069033A3 WO2001069033A3 (en) 2002-03-07

Family

ID=8557930

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/FI2001/000250 WO2001069033A2 (en) 2000-03-15 2001-03-14 Oil-recovery device

Country Status (3)

Country Link
AU (1) AU2001246585A1 (en)
FI (1) FI20000595A0 (en)
WO (1) WO2001069033A2 (en)

Cited By (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
ES2219178A1 (en) * 2002-12-16 2004-11-16 Francisco Novo Martinez Recuperator for oil from vessel sunk in deep water includes valved collector bag and riser pipe with electromagnets facilitating feed to tanker
FR2869012A1 (en) * 2004-04-16 2005-10-21 Jlmd Ecologic Group Sa Polluting fluid recovering equipment for e.g. emergency ship, has small pipes and large, where each large pipe has plate that covers intersection edge of walls of transversal tank, and fixed in walls
ES2246103A1 (en) * 2003-03-14 2006-02-01 Carlos Criado Garcia Crude oil extraction system used in great sea depths, has steel tube joined to floating platform and coupled to tanker, in which crude oil penetrates tube and is spilled out towards transport channel for transfer into tanker
EP2522568A1 (en) * 2011-05-13 2012-11-14 Jlmd Ecologic Group Method for evacuating liquid from a tank of a stricken ship
CN106475964A (en) * 2016-12-23 2017-03-08 中国石油大学(北京) Installation for subsea control modules in submerged production system and retracting device

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4195653A (en) * 1976-12-13 1980-04-01 Institut Francais Du Petrole Method and apparatus for recovering products of low pumpability
US4592786A (en) * 1983-07-11 1986-06-03 Petroleum Fermentations N.V. Process for cleaning an oil contaminated vessel

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4195653A (en) * 1976-12-13 1980-04-01 Institut Francais Du Petrole Method and apparatus for recovering products of low pumpability
US4592786A (en) * 1983-07-11 1986-06-03 Petroleum Fermentations N.V. Process for cleaning an oil contaminated vessel

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
ES2219178A1 (en) * 2002-12-16 2004-11-16 Francisco Novo Martinez Recuperator for oil from vessel sunk in deep water includes valved collector bag and riser pipe with electromagnets facilitating feed to tanker
ES2246103A1 (en) * 2003-03-14 2006-02-01 Carlos Criado Garcia Crude oil extraction system used in great sea depths, has steel tube joined to floating platform and coupled to tanker, in which crude oil penetrates tube and is spilled out towards transport channel for transfer into tanker
FR2869012A1 (en) * 2004-04-16 2005-10-21 Jlmd Ecologic Group Sa Polluting fluid recovering equipment for e.g. emergency ship, has small pipes and large, where each large pipe has plate that covers intersection edge of walls of transversal tank, and fixed in walls
EP2522568A1 (en) * 2011-05-13 2012-11-14 Jlmd Ecologic Group Method for evacuating liquid from a tank of a stricken ship
FR2975072A1 (en) * 2011-05-13 2012-11-16 Jlmd Ecologic Group METHOD FOR DISCHARGING LIQUID FROM A TANK OF A DISASTER VESSEL
WO2012156601A1 (en) * 2011-05-13 2012-11-22 Jlmd Ecologic Group Method for discharging liquid from a tank of a stricken ship
US9446819B2 (en) 2011-05-13 2016-09-20 Jlmd Ecologic Group Method for discharging liquid from a tank of a stricken ship
CN106475964A (en) * 2016-12-23 2017-03-08 中国石油大学(北京) Installation for subsea control modules in submerged production system and retracting device

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU2001246585A1 (en) 2001-09-24
FI20000595A0 (en) 2000-03-15
WO2001069033A3 (en) 2002-03-07

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