OIL SPILL CONTAINMENT AND RECOVERY SYSTEMS

Abstract

Systems for containment and recovery of oil spills in the offshore environment have been recently developed and tested.

Containment System

A containment barrier system has been designed to maintain structural integrity in 20 ft seas, 3 knot currents and 60 mph winds, and to contain oil in 4 to 5 ft seas and 40 mph winds. The system uses the properties of foam materials to make it lightweight, easily deployable, flexible, and highly wave-conforming. One unique property of the barrier is a special "dynamic keel" which permits the barrier to have static and dynamic stability without a significant weight penalty. The barrier uses foam "memory" to store energy, eliminating the need for auxiliary deployment equipment such as compressors. The barrier is designed so that it can be rapidly deployed to increase containment effectiveness.

Recovery System

A system for recovery of petroleum products from accidental offshore spills has been developed and tested. The testing has included both model testing and prototype testing of a 60 ft long system capable of recovering oil at a rate of 2000 gallons per minute. A 500 gpm system has also been designed.

The tests have shown the system capable of recovering spilled oil at high efficiencies (less than 10% water in the recovered oil) at the 2000 gpm rate under environmental conditions ranging from calm to low State 5 seas (8 ft significant wave height) and in currents up to three knots.

The oil recovery system is air, truck and ship transportable for rapid deployment to a remote spill location. It is completely self-contained having its own power unit, control system, and pumps. In its preferred deployment configuration it is used with oil containment booms such as the "dynamic keel" barrier, for funnelling the oil to the recovery system.

A double weir system is employed to obtain high performance. The system is operated in such a way that oil thickens in front of the primary weir and then further thickens in front of the secondary weir, where it is withdrawn.