Apparatus for Transporting Pollution from a Body of Water

Abstract

A floatable-material harvester is disclosed, including a vacuum source, transport hose, and a floatable-material receiver. In one embodiment, the transport hose has at least one air inductor / intake along its length, which allows air to enter the transport hose to accelerate its contents, by negative pressure air induction. In another embodiment, a transport hose has at least one floatable-material thruster along its length, comprised of at least one nozzle, which provides pressurized fluid (e.g., air or water) in the direction of the flow of the harvested floatable material by positive pressure induction. A method is disclosed whereby the floatable material harvester is used to harvest an absorbent material (e.g., wood chips, straw, perlite, zeolite, polypropylene mesh, titanate nanofibres) that has absorbed a pollutant (e.g., oil, solvent, radioactive isotopes) from a beach or in water.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION DATA[0001]This application claims the benefit of Australian standard patent application 2014202263, filed Apr. 25, 2014.[0002]This application claims the benefit of Canadian patent application 2846047, filed Mar. 14, 2014.[0003]This application also claims the benefit of U.S. Non-provisional application Ser. No. 14 / 170,604, filed Feb. 1, 2014.[0004]This application also claims the benefit of Canadian patent application 2840478, filed Jan. 23, 2014.[0005]This application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional patent application 61 / 923,729, filed Jan. 5, 2014.[0006]This application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional patent application 61 / 914,353, filed Dec. 10, 2013.[0007]This application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional patent application 61 / 887,421, filed Oct. 6, 2013.[0008]This application also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional patent application 61 / 879,646, filed Sep. 18, 2013.[0009]This application also claims the benefit of U.S. ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0025]In an additional embodiment, at least one air inductor has at least one air control valve regulating the flow of air through the at least one air inductor. An air inductor is an air intake that allows a controlled amount of air to enter the transport hose by negative pressure. In some embodiments, a plurality of air inductors is shown. In still another embodiment, the floatable-material harvester includes a microprocessor coupled to the at least one air control valve and configured to control the at least one air control valve. The at least one air inductor may further include an airflow meter, in another embodiment. A plurality of air inductors may assist material in traveling a greater distance than a single air inductor.

[0026]In yet another embodiment, the least one air inductor includes a snorkel to help ensure that air and not water is intaken by placing the level of the air intake a distance above the normal water level, while being high enough of a distance to minimize take on water from waves. Another embodiment of the floatable-material harvester includes an airtight hose section filled with air, through which the transport hose passes, with the airtight hose section interior being connected to the interior of the transport hose by the at least one air inductor.

[0032]In some embodiments, collected seaweed is metered into and through a mesh belt dryer, which is a well known apparatus for drying seaweed. This dryer provides air flow through a layer of seaweed that is several inches deep on a conveyor belt. The seaweed is often stirrated or flipped over as it moves down the conveyor belt to cause even distribution of air and drying. In some embodiments, instead of drying, the mesh belt dryer has an air intake that is fitted with a refrigeration unit, so that cold air is circulated through the seaweed, lowering its temperature to around −2 degrees Celsius as it moves down the conveyor belt. In some embodiments, an apparatus that cools the seaweed by cold air is used instead of the refrigeration unit in the seaweed washer. In some embodiments, a rotary dryer is used in place of a mesh belt dryer or any device suited for circulating cold air around solid material. The exhaust and intake of the mesh belt dryer may be directly connected by a circulation fan, so that the evaporator coils or other cooling mechanism of the refrigeration unit are in the path of the airflow. Cooling the seaweed from ambient temperature has the effect of dramatically lowering its rate of decomposition.

[0033]In other embodiments, the collected seaweed is processed through a seaweed washer. In some embodiments, the seaweed washer is comprised of a refrigeration unit to lower the temperature of the wash water, which in turn lowers the temperature of the seaweed. In other embodiments, the wash water is injected with a sterilizing agent such as ozone, bromine, or chlorine. In another embodiment, the seaweed is sterilized by ultraviolet-C (e.g. UV-C) or electromagnetic radiation suitable for killing, e.g., bacteria, nematodes, protozoans, and fungi, thereby suitably sterilizing the seaweed. Sterilizing the seaweed also aids in slowing the rate of decomposition.

Problems solved by technology

The amounts are sometimes staggering, leading to mass rotting and often the generation of hydrogen sulphide gas, which has been known to kill both humans and animals, as well as the direct release of methane into the atmosphere through anaerobic decomposition, where methane is commonly known to have 72 times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) over 20 years than carbon dioxide.

Furthermore, although some of the seaweed provides beneficial decomposing matter as food for insects and worms that feed other species, the amounts of seaweed often far outweighs the benefit of the ecosystem, as it amounts to incredible masses of rotting vegetation similar to a massive landfill.

Eutrophication is also for certain leading to the starvation and destruction of coral reef systems that are overwhelmed and suffocated by algae.

In fresh water environments, eutrophication is starving fish of oxygen and ultimately destroying their natural habitat by overwhelming the habitat with biomass.

While overgrown or invasive, aquatic plants can be a nuisance as well as a hazard to the environment, those plants at the same time can present commercial opportunity.

The large amounts of seaweed can be a nuisance when it washes up on shore and begins to decay, causing a stench, releasing methane and hydrogen sulfide gases, and leaving the beach looking filthy.

However, conventional methods do not address the difficulty of harvesting seaweed from shores where land access is unavailable.

Furthermore, in sensitive beach environments, they can disturb the ground, causing the sea grass to die and the beach to erode, as well as promoting the destruction of clams and fish eggs by the use of tracked vehicles to access such beach areas.

However, the waters near many shores have shallow areas where access would not be possible during low tide, as the barge would contact the ground and possibly damage clam beds and other sea life or ecology.

All of them have a limitation of rate and speed of pick up.

Petroleum spills cause more damage to the environment the longer the oil spill is present.

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