New Submerged Oil Recovery Technology
In November of 2005, a tank barge capsized in the Gulf of Mexico spilling 65,000 barrels of slurry oil. The oil sank to the bottom almost immediately. Marine Pollution Control Corporation (MPC) was tasked with recovering the submerged oil. MPC responded by assembling a recovery team of 24 people, including 14 divers, and mounted a 24-hour a day operation, run from the deck of a chartered 250-ft. barge. MPC also mobilized a large assortment of submersible pumps, diesel hydraulic power packs, ancillary support equipment, and specialized submerged oil recovery devices. Despite difficulties in locating and tracking the oil over 100 square miles, the MPC team was able to recover all the oil designated by the command team. Successful as the operation was, all parties recognized the limitations imposed by the circumstances and the method of recovery-the duration and depth of diving was limited, and divers in the ordinary course of their work, disturbed the bottom, obscuring visibility and damaging the environment. How could we have recovered more oil? How clean is clean? The questions inspired Dave Usher, chairman of MPC to develop this new tool for the MPC toolbox: combining a two-person submarine with an underwater suction nozzle connected to MPC's KMA 333 hydraulic submersible pump. In tests conducted on the Rouge River in Detroit in mid-October, the tool worked flawlessly. MPC used red clay to simulate the submerged oil. An MPC barge was mobilized as an operations platform and the two-person submarine, maneuvering the suction nozzle, submerged and easily recovered all of the simulated oil. According to Dave Usher, most spill clean-up efforts have concentrated on oil on surfaces, but oil on the bottom does roll to shore, creating a larger impact. "Recovering oil from the bottoms of oceans, lakes and rivers has been a major problem in oil spill cleanups," said Dave Usher. "We learned a lot in tests we conducted last year at Lake Travis in Texas. Under the more rigorous conditions on the Rouge River, we've discovered the submersible goes a long way in helping solve the problems associated with underwater recovery."
www.marinelink.com
The submersible unit, operated by Seamobile of Claremont, CA, weighs 7,000 lbs, is 15-ft. long and almost eight feet wide, and houses a pilot and one passenger in a 54-in., spherical acrylic cabin. It has a normal air supply of six hours and a reserve supply of an additional 72 hours. It is capable of dives to 3,000 ft. The recovery procedure combines the submersible and a unique suction nozzle connected to MPC's KMA 333, which is capable of pumping 2,400+ gallons per minute. The unique characteristic of this system is that it does not contact the polluted sea bed, but rather hovers above it, minimizing disturbance to the oilaffected area. This procedure of oil spill recovery is patent pending.
For more information, Email jtaylor@marinepollutioncontrol.com
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