Deepwater oil recovery process

• US 20120018386A1
• Filed: 06/09/2011
• Published: 01/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Ecosphere Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ecosphere Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: McGuire, Dennis, Jakhete, Sanjeev
• Application Number:
  US13/157,143
• Publication Number:
  US 20120018386A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 210/706
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 11/062 Hypochlorites of alkali metals
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 13/02 Preparation of oxygen by liquefying F25J
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 13/10 Preparation of ozone
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 15/01 Hydrogen peroxide
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/006 Water distributors either inside a treatment tank or directing the water to several treatment tanks; Water treatment plants incorporating these distributors, with or without chemical or biological tanks for settling tanks B01D21/24
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/24 by flotation C02F1/465 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/34 with mechanical oscillations
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/36 ultrasonic vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/4672 by electrooxydation
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/727 using pure oxygen or oxygen rich gas
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 1/78 with ozone C02F1/4672 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2101/32 Hydrocarbons, e.g. oil
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2103/007 Contaminated open waterways, rivers, lakes or ponds
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2103/06 Contaminated groundwater or leachate
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2201/784 Diffusers or nozzles for ozonation
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2301/024 Turbulent
• CPC Class Codes: C02F 2305/023 Reactive oxygen species, singlet oxygen, OH radical
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 43/0122 Collecting oil or the like from a submerged leakage cleaning or keeping clear the surface of open water from oil or the like E02B15/04

Abstract

Ozone/oxygen gas is mixed with treated seawater at 30% quality foam and injected to the wellhead at the sea floor. At the seafloor, a tank mixing eductor would be used to mix high pressure oxygen bubbles with the oil contaminated seawater by shearing the oil globs into small oil droplets allowing the new surface area to immediately react with the dissolved ozone/oxygen in the seawater. The ozone/oxygen admixture creating an attraction force between the droplets and the oxygen bubbles. As the droplets and bubble rise, they form larger spherical top-hat bubbles that rise faster in the seawater. In the preferred embodiment, the eductor employs a cone shape flow to direct a significant amount of the oil plume into a predictable area that can then be skimmed mechanically for harvesting or destruction.

Claims

1. A system for treating deep water oil leaks comprising:

a pump having an inlet and an outlet, said pump inlet being fluidly connected to a seawater source;

an ozone injection device having an inlet and an outlet, said inlet of said fluid communication said outlet of said pump, whereby ozone is injected into the seawater fluid;

a flash reactor in fluid communication having an inlet and an outlet, said inlet of said flash reactor in fluid communication with said outlet of said ozone injection device, said flash reactor having flow paths creating areas of severe velocity and pressure changes constructed and arrange to reduce the size of ozone bubbles created by said ozone injection device into nano-sized bubbles;

a hydrodynamic cavitation mixing manifold having an inlet and an outlet, said inlet of said hydrodynamic cavitation mixing manifold in fluid communication with said outlet of the flash reactor for admixing said ozone and seawater;

a converging dynamic nozzle having an inlet and an outlet, said inlet fluidly coupled to said outlet of said hydrodynamic mixing manifold;

a main reactor having an inlet and an outlet, said main reactor fluidly coupled to said outlet of said hydrodynamic mixing manifold, said main reactor including a plurality of ultrasonic transducers assemblies for generating acoustic cavitation of said admixed seawater;

a tank mixing eductor fluidly coupled to said outlet of said main reactor said eductor juxtapositioned to a deep water oil leak;

wherein said admixed ozonated seawater having nano-sized bubbles subjected to acoustic and hydrodynamic cavitation is expelled from said eductor for shearing oil globs from the oil leak into oil droplets, said oil droplets reacting with the admixed ozonated seawater causing an attraction force therebetween allowing the oil droplets to rise into larger spherical hat bubbles transporting the oil to the surface of the water, whereby said oil can be removed by conventional non-chemical separation.

2. The system for treating deep water oil leaks according to claim 1 wherein said eductor is constructed and arranged to disperse in a cone shape for directional control of said oil.

3. The system for treating deep water oil leaks according to claim 1 wherein said main reactor includes a plurality of anodes and cathodes to create an electrical potential.

4. The system for treating deep water oil leaks according to claim 1 including an oxygen generator that produces oxygen that is fed to an ozone generator that is fed to said ozone injection device.

5. The system for treating deep water oil leaks according to claim 1 wherein said ozone injection device is a high efficiency, venturi type, differential pressure injector.

9. The method for treating deep water oil leaks according to claim 1 wherein said ozone is formed by an ozone generator that is fed oxygen from an oxygen generator

10. The method for treating deep water oil leaks according to claim 1 wherein said ozone that is injection is about 8% ozone and 92% oxygen.

11. The method for treating deep water oil leaks according to claim 1 wherein said admixed seawater is about 30% foam.

6. A method of treating deep water oil leaks comprising:

pumping seawater for conditioning;

inserting a mixture of ozone and oxygen into the seawater being pumped;

directing said ozonated seawater through a flash reactor having flow paths creating areas of severe velocity and pressure changes constructed and arranged to reduce the size of ozone bubbles created by said ozone injection device into nano-sized bubbles;

admixing said ozonated seawater with a hydrodynamic cavitation mixing manifold having static shearing baffles contained therein;

inducing said admixed ozonated seawater in a main reactor by use of a converging dynamic nozzle having to induce cavitation, said main reactor including a plurality of ultrasonic transducers assemblies for generating acoustic cavitation of said admixed ozonated seawater;

educting said admixed ozonated seawater into the oil leak;

wherein said admixed ozonated seawater having nano-sized bubbles subjected to acoustic and hydrodynamic cavitation is expelled from said eductor for shearing oil globs from the oil leak into oil droplets, said oil droplets reacting with the admixed ozonated seawater causing an attraction force therebetween allowing the oil droplets to rise into larger spherical hat bubbles transporting the oil to the surface of the water, whereby said oil can be removed by conventional non-chemical separation.

7. The method for treating deep water oil leaks according to claim 6 including the step of shaping said eductor to disperse in a cone shape for directional control of said oil.

8. The method for treating deep water oil leaks according to claim 6 including the step of subjecting said admixed seawater to create an electrical potential by use of a plurality of anodes and cathodes mounted in said main reactor.