Mechanism and method for recovering material from the surface of a liquid body

• US 4,142,972 A
• Filed: 05/03/1977
• Issued: 03/06/1979
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/1975
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Scientific Associates, Inc. (Celsis International, PLC)
• Original Assignee: Scientific Associates, Inc. (Celsis International, PLC)
• Inventors: Rodriguez, Sergio E., Mikoalj, Paul G., Nebeker, Eugene B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wyse, Thomas G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cintins, Ivars
• Application Number:
  US05/793,280
• Time in Patent Office: 672 Days
• Field of Search: 210/65, 210/83, 210/84, 210/170, 210/208, 210/219, 210/242 S, 210/304, 210/512, 210/DIG. 25
• US Class Current: 210/787
• CPC Class Codes: E02B 15/107 Whirling means forming a vortex in the water; cyclones

Abstract

Material such as an oil slick floating on a body of liquid, ordinarily water, is collected by a mechanism comprising an impeller beneath the liquid surface and a rotatable tubular element which together form a free vortex as the surface of the body of liquid that draws the material into a vortex pocket from which it can be pumped.

Claims

1. Mechanism for removing material from a liquid surface comprising:

a cylindrical rotatable tubular element having a substantially upright axis of rotation and an axial dimension of length, and including flow passage means permitting flow of liquid into and out of the cylindrical rotatable tubular element entering and departing the cylindrical rotatable tubular element from axially spaced-apart locations;

a liquid flow duct having an open entrance end and an open exit end, and having an axis of flow;

means in said liquid flow duct between its entrance end and its exit and for causing liquid to flow through said flow duct from said entrance end to said exit end;

means for rotating the cylindrical rotatable tubular element;

means supporting the cylindrical rotatable tubular element and the flow duct relative to the surface of a body of liquid and to each other so that the cylindrical rotatable tubular element is positioned beneath the liquid surface and rotates around said axis, and

at least a major portion of the flow duct is positioned beneath the elevation of the bottom of the cylindrical rotatable tubular element with the axis of flow at said entrance end coaxial with the axis of rotation of the cylindrical rotatable tubular element, and

the means for causing liquid to flow through the flow duct constructed and arranged to move water downwardly into the entrance end, through the flow duct, and out the exit end, and the cylindrical rotatable tubular element constructed and arranged to rotate water around its said axis,

whereby there is formed in the liquid above the cylindrical rotatable tubular element, a free vortex into which material on the liquid collects in a pocket; and

means for extracting material from said pocket.

2. Mechanism according to claim 1 in which the flow duct is rotatably driven.

3. Mechanism according to claim 1 in which the means for drawing liquid through the flow duct comprises an impeller in the flow duct coaxial with the axis of the flow duct.

4. Mechanism according to claim 3 in which the flow duct is rotatably driven.

5. Mechanism according to claim 3 in which the means supporting the rotatable tubular element, the flow duct and the impeller relative to the surface of the body of liquid comprises a float means.

6. Mechanism according to claim 5 in which the flow duct is rotatably driven.

7. Mechanism according to claim 3 in which the rotatable tubular element includes a disc having a flat horizontal upper surface with an outer circumference outside the circumference of the duct.

8. Mechanism according to claim 1 in which the rotatable tubular element includes a disc having a flat horizontal upper surface with an outer circumference disposed outwardly from the circumference of the flow duct.

9. Mechanism according to claim 1 in which a skirt surrounds, and is spaced from, the flow duct.

10. Mechanism according to claim 9 in which the skirt is stationary and does not rotate.

11. Mechanism according to claim 10 in which a horizontal deflector plate is attached to an upper part of the skirt, the inner circumference of the deflector plate being disposed inwardly from the circumference of the skirt.

12. Mechanism according to claim 1 in which a funnel is attached to the upper end of the rotatable tubular element.

13. Mechanism according to claim 1 in which the means extracting the material comprises a conduit having an inlet above the rotatable tubular element, and means connected to the conduit for drawing material through the conduit.

14. Mechanism according to claim 1 in which the rotatable tubular element is provided with a closure adjacent to its bottom and opening means near the bottom and above the closure through which liquid may flow out of the rotatable tubular element.

15. Mechanism according to claim 14 in which a second impeller is mounted within said rotatable tubular element at the region of the opening means so that the rotation of said second impeller assists the flow of liquid from within the rotatable tubular element out through the opening means.

16. Mechanism according to claim 1 in which a material recovery pipe extends upwardly from a position beneath the rotatable element along the axis of rotation of the tubular element and terminates at a position above the rotatable tubular element.

17. The method of recovering material from a liquid surface which comprises:

rotating on a vertical axis a cylindrical tubular element placed beneath the surface of the liquid so that liquid above the element and surrounding the vertical axis is formed as a ring-shaped region which rotates bodily around said axis and is formed of eddy currents which flow in a generally curvilinear path radially outward from said axis, then axially upward, radially inward and axially downward;

drawing a downward axial flow of water through a duct having an upright axis substantially co-linear with the axis of said rotating element so that some of the axial flow of water envelops said rotational field,

whereby a free vortex is formed in the liquid between the surface and the element, said vortex containing a pocket of said material drawn from the surface of the liquid; and

extracting the material from said pocket.

18. The method according to claim 17 wherein the major portion of the axial flow of the liquid is passed downward outside the periphery of said element and caused to enter said duct through the region between the bottom of said element and the top of said duct.

19. The method according to claim 18 in which the surface layer of liquid is caused to pass through said ring-shaped region.