Deep sea polymetallic nodule tail water reuse type collection system

Abstract

The invention relates to a deep sea polymetallic nodule tail water reuse type collection system, an ore collection head comprises a sealing cover, one end of the upper side of the sealing cover is provided with a suction port, the other end of the upper side of the sealing cover is provided with a jet flow port, the interior of a buffer bin is divided into a buffer cavity and a water outlet cavity through a filter plate, and the buffer cavity is provided with a nodule inlet and a nodule outlet; the water outlet cavity is provided with a tail water outlet, the suction opening is connected with the tuberculosis inlet through a suction pipeline, the tail water outlet is connected with the water inlet end of a suction water pump through a tail water pipeline, the water outlet end of the suction water pump is connected with the jet flow opening through a jet flow pipeline, and a material conveying machine is arranged between the tuberculosis outlet and the lifting pipeline. The fluid in the closed cover is sucked into the buffer bin in a suction mode to realize separation and temporary storage of the polymetallic nodules, the suction mode can effectively reduce disturbance of seabed sediments, meanwhile, separated tail water can form tail water jet flow to be reused, the collection efficiency is effectively improved, meanwhile, the system structure is simplified, and the cost is reduced. And the overall energy consumption of the system is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the fields of marine engineering and deep-sea mining equipment, and in particular to a deep-sea polymetallic nodule tail water multiplexing collection system. Background Art

[0002] Against the backdrop of relatively scarce global mineral resources, the development of deep-sea mineral resources to alleviate the resource scarcity problem facing human society has become a global trend. The deep sea is rich in mineral resources, primarily polymetallic nodules, cobalt-rich shells, and polymetallic sulfides. The collection of these various deep-sea mineral resources requires advanced deep-sea mining equipment. The mining and development of deep-sea polymetallic nodule mineral resources differs from conventional land-based mining, typically requiring deep-sea mining vehicles equipped with specialized collection tools. Furthermore, in response to stringent international policies and regulations on seabed mineral resource development, it is also necessary to ensure that deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining operations are environmentally friendly. Furthermore, deep-sea mining consumes significant energy, and in order to achieve low-cost commercial mining, it is also necessary to reduce the overall power consumption of the collection system.

[0003] Currently, common deep-sea polymetallic nodule collection systems at home and abroad mainly include mechanical collection systems, pneumatic collection systems and hydraulic collection systems. Compared with the first two systems, the hydraulic collection system has a higher comprehensive collection efficiency and a lower failure rate for continuous long-term underwater operations. However, the current hydraulic collection systems generally have problems such as high disturbance of seabed sediments at the collection head position and on-site discharge of water pump tail water, which pollutes the environment.

[0004] A Chinese invention patent with authorization publication number CN112983426B discloses a crab claw-like deep-sea mining collection head. The device includes a rotating jet ore-lifting device, a diversion channel, and a conveying channel. The rotating jet ore-lifting device uses an open rotating claw-like jet arm to achieve collection. However, when the device is working, part of the jet will push sediments and nodules outward, which will reduce collection efficiency and aggravate the disturbance of seabed sediments, polluting the environment.

[0005] A Chinese invention patent with authorization announcement number CN117027810B discloses a rotating jet deep-sea polymetallic nodule collection device. The device includes a shell, a drum, a distribution plate, a gear hobbing and other structures. However, when the device is working, it needs to use the gear hobbing to cut through the sparse and soft seabed. In addition, the dual functions of the drum and the nozzle and the lack of protective measures will cause large sediment disturbance and diffusion at the collection head position, resulting in environmental pollution.

[0006] A Chinese invention patent with authorization publication number CN116291462B discloses a Coanda effect-based ore collection device and method. The device includes a jet collection device, a pumping pipeline, an ore storage bin, and other structures. The jet collection device uses liquid carbon dioxide as the jet fluid to resolve the conflict between collection efficiency and interference with the seabed environment. However, the device is relatively complex and energy-intensive. Because the temperature of the liquid carbon dioxide must be maintained within a certain range, a temperature control component must be installed on the storage tank and a heating wire must be installed inside the jet nozzle. Furthermore, to prevent large-scale overflow of the disturbed plume and prevent heat dissipation, the jet collection device, pumping pipeline, ore storage bin, and other structures must all be placed within a plume overflow shield. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a deep-sea polymetallic nodule tailwater reuse collection system, which uses a combination of jet suction to suck the solid-liquid mixed fluid in the closed cover into a buffer silo to achieve the separation and temporary storage of polymetallic nodules. The collection method of the present invention can effectively reduce the diffusion of seabed sediments. At the same time, the separated tailwater can also form a tailwater jet for reuse. While effectively improving the collection efficiency, it also simplifies the system structure and reduces the overall energy consumption of the system.

[0008] The object of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0009] A deep-sea polymetallic nodule tailwater reuse collection system includes a collecting head, a buffer silo, a suction pump, a conveyor and a lifting pipeline, wherein the collecting head includes a closed cover, and a suction port is provided at one end of the upper side of the closed cover and a jet port is provided at the other end, the interior of the buffer silo is divided into a cache chamber and a water outlet chamber by a filter plate, wherein the cache chamber is provided with a nodule inlet and a nodule outlet, and the water outlet chamber is provided with a tailwater outlet, the suction port is connected to the nodule inlet through a suction pipeline, the tailwater outlet is connected to the water inlet end of the suction pump through a tailwater pipeline, the water outlet end of the suction pump is connected to the jet port through a jet pipeline, and a conveyor is provided between the nodule outlet and the lifting pipeline.

[0010] The conveyor includes a conveyor shell and an impeller arranged in the conveyor shell, wherein the conveyor shell is provided with a conveyor inlet and a conveyor outlet, and the conveyor inlet is connected to the nodule outlet of the buffer silo, and the conveyor outlet is connected to the lifting pipeline through a pipeline.

[0011] The two sides of the conveying shell are arc-shaped walls, and the impeller blade head end of the impeller is provided with a sealing gasket, and when any impeller blade is rotated to a horizontal state, the sealing gasket at the impeller blade head end contacts the corresponding side arc-shaped wall.

[0012] The lifting pipeline includes a seawater input section and a rising pipeline section connected in sequence, wherein the seawater input section is connected to the feeder, and a seawater inlet is provided at the head end of the seawater input section, and the rising pipeline section is provided with a lifting water pump.

[0013] The advantages and positive effects of the present invention are:

[0014] 1. The present invention uses a combination of jet suction and suction to draw the solid-liquid mixed fluid in the closed cover of the collection head into the buffer silo to achieve separation and temporary storage of polymetallic nodules. The collection method of the present invention can reduce the diffusion of seabed sediments, and the present invention confines the fluid within the closed cover, thereby further reducing environmental pollution during the collection process.

[0015] 2. The present invention uses a suction water pump to form a tail water jet from the separated tail water for reuse to drive the polymetallic nodules to accelerate their movement toward the suction port of the collection head. While effectively improving the collection efficiency, it also reduces the number of water pumps used in the collection system and reduces the overall energy consumption of the system. In addition, the tail water jet will not cause significant disturbance to the seabed sediments under the confinement of the closed cover, and there will be no large-scale diffusion of seabed sediments to cause environmental pollution.

[0016] 3. The conveyor of the present invention is provided with an impeller inside, and a sealing gasket is provided at the head end of each impeller blade of the impeller, and the shell of the conveying mechanism has arc-shaped walls on both sides. In this way, when any impeller blade rotates to a horizontal state, the sealing gasket can contact the corresponding side arc-shaped wall to block the influence of the fluid in the lifting pipeline on the fluid in the buffer chamber, that is, effectively isolate the mutual influence between the suction water pump and the lifting water pump, and improve the tail water reuse efficiency.

[0017] 4. The seawater input section of the lifting pipeline of the present invention is located close to the rear of the closed cover. The fluid entering through the suction action of the lifting water pump can further reduce leakage pollution generated at the position of the semi-closed closed cover, ensuring the green and environmentally friendly characteristics of the collection system operation process. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the present invention,

[0019] Figure 2 for Figure 1 The cross-sectional view of the present invention,

[0020] Figure 3 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the middle buffer bin,

[0021] Figure 4 for Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the middle feeder.

[0022] Figure 5 for Figure 4A in the enlarged view.

[0023] Among them, 1 is the ore collecting head, 101 is the jet port, 102 is the closing cover, 103 is the suction port, 2 is the jet pipeline, 3 is the suction water pump, 4 is the lifting water pump, 5 is the lifting pipeline, 501 is the rising pipeline section, 502 is the seawater input section, 6 is the feeder, 601 is the feeder casing, 602 is the impeller, 603 is the feeder inlet, 604 is the feeder outlet, 605 is the sealing gasket, 7 is the buffer silo, 701 is the water outlet chamber, 702 is the filter plate, 703 is the nodule inlet, 704 is the tail water outlet, 705 is the nodule outlet, 706 is the cache chamber, 8 is the suction pipeline, 9 is the tail water pipeline, and 10 is the polymetallic nodule. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0025] like Figures 1 to 5 As shown, the present invention includes a collecting head 1, a buffer silo 7, a suction pump 3, a feeder 6 and a lifting pipeline 5, wherein the collecting head 1 includes a closed cover 102, and a suction port 103 is provided at one end of the upper side of the closed cover 102 and a jet port 101 is provided at the other end. Figures 2-3 As shown, the interior of the buffer silo 7 is divided into a cache chamber 706 and a water outlet chamber 701 by a filter plate 702, wherein the cache chamber 706 is provided with a nodule inlet 703 and a nodule outlet 705, and the water outlet chamber 701 is provided with a tail water outlet 704, the suction port 103 is connected to the nodule inlet 703 through a suction pipe 8, the tail water outlet 704 is connected to the water inlet end of the suction water pump 3 through a tail water pipe 9, the water outlet end of the suction water pump 3 is connected to the jet port 101 through a jet pipe 2, and a feeder 6 is provided between the nodule outlet 705 and the lifting pipe 5. When the present invention is in operation, the suction pump 3 is activated to perform a suction function to draw the fluid in the closed cover 1 into the buffer chamber 706 of the buffer silo 7, wherein the polymetallic nodules 10 in the fluid are blocked by the filter plate 702 and remain in the buffer chamber 706. The tail water in the fluid enters the water outlet chamber 701 and forms a tail water jet through the tail water pipeline 9, the suction pump 3 and the jet pipeline 2 and then returns to the closed cover 101. At this time, the tail water jet can drive the polymetallic nodules 10 to move toward the suction port 103 to improve the collection efficiency. In addition, the closed cover 102 forms a semi-enclosed space to effectively confine the fluid within the closed cover 102, which can avoid large-scale disturbance and diffusion of seabed sediments, thereby reducing environmental pollution during the collection operation. When the polymetallic nodules 10 in the buffer chamber 706 are enriched to a set level, the conveyor 6 is activated to input the polymetallic nodules 10 into the lifting pipeline 5, and the polymetallic nodules 10 are lifted to the water surface through the lifting pipeline 5 for collection.

[0026] like Figure 2 and Figure 4 As shown, in this embodiment, the feeder 6 includes a feeder housing 601 and an impeller 602 provided in the feeder housing 601, wherein the feeder housing 601 is provided with a feeder inlet 603 and a feeder outlet 604, and the feeder inlet 603 is connected to the nodule outlet 705 of the buffer silo 7, and the feeder outlet 604 is connected to the lifting pipeline 5 through a pipeline, and the impeller 602 is driven to rotate by a motor provided on the feeder housing 601, wherein as shown in FIG. Figure 5 As shown, the conveying casing 601 has arc-shaped walls on both sides, and a sealing gasket 605 is provided at the head end of the impeller blade of the impeller 602. When any impeller blade rotates to a horizontal state, the sealing gasket 605 can contact the corresponding side arc-shaped wall to block the influence of the fluid in the lifting pipeline 5 on the fluid in the buffer chamber 706.

[0027] like Figure 2 As shown, in this embodiment, the lifting pipeline 5 comprises a seawater input section 502 and an ascending pipeline section 501, which are connected in sequence. The seawater input section 502 is connected to the feeder 6 and has a seawater inlet at its head end. The ascending pipeline section 501 is equipped with a lifting water pump 4. When the lifting water pump 4 is activated, seawater is drawn into the lifting pipeline 5 through the seawater inlet and the polymetallic nodules 10 that have entered the lifting pipeline 5 are lifted along the ascending pipeline section 501 to the water surface for collection. Furthermore, the seawater inlet of the seawater input section 502 can be located near the rear of the enclosure. This allows the fluid drawn in by the lifting water pump 4 to further reduce leakage pollution at the semi-enclosed enclosure 102, ensuring the environmental friendliness of the collection system operation.

[0028] The working principle of the present invention is:

[0029] When the present invention is working, the suction water pump 3 is first started to suck the solid-liquid mixed fluid in the closed cover 1 into the buffer chamber 706 of the buffer silo 7, wherein the polymetallic nodules 10 in the fluid are blocked by the filter plate 702 and remain in the buffer chamber 706, and the tail water in the fluid enters the water outlet chamber 701 and forms a tail water jet through the tail water pipeline 9, the suction water pump 3 and the jet pipeline 2 in sequence and returns to the closed cover 101. At this time, the tail water jet can drive the polymetallic nodules 10 to move toward the suction port 103 to improve the collection efficiency. When the polymetallic nodules 10 in the buffer chamber 706 are enriched to a certain extent, the feeder 6 and the lifting water pump 4 are started, wherein the feeder 6 rotates the impeller 602 to input the polymetallic nodules 10 into the seawater input section 502 of the lifting pipeline 5, and the lifting water pump 4 sucks seawater into the seawater input section 502, and the sucked seawater drives the polymetallic nodules 10 to be lifted to the water surface along the rising pipeline section 501 for collection.

[0030] The present invention uses suction to draw the fluid within enclosure 102 into buffer silo 7 to separate and temporarily store polymetallic nodules 10. Furthermore, the present collection method reduces the spread of seabed sediments. Furthermore, although the tailwater jet flows back into enclosure 102 through jet port 101, the present invention confines the fluid within enclosure 102, preventing widespread disturbance and diffusion of seabed sediments and thus reducing environmental pollution during the collection process. Furthermore, the present invention utilizes only a single suction pump 3 to collect polymetallic nodules 10, simplifying the system structure and reducing overall energy consumption.

[0031] The seawater input section 502 of the present invention is located close to the rear of the closed cover 102. The fluid entering through the suction action of the lifting water pump 4 can further reduce leakage pollution generated at the position of the semi-closed closed cover 102, ensuring the green and environmentally friendly characteristics of the collection system operation process.

[0032] The present invention provides a sealing gasket 605 on the impeller 602 of the feeder 6, and the two sides of the feeder housing 601 are arc-shaped walls, such as Figures 4-5 As shown, when any impeller blade rotates to a horizontal state, the sealing gasket 605 at the head end of the impeller blade can contact the corresponding side arc wall to block the influence of the fluid in the lifting pipe 5 on the fluid in the buffer chamber 706, that is, effectively isolate the mutual influence between the suction water pump 3 and the lifting water pump 4, and improve the tail water reuse efficiency.

Claims

1. A deep-sea polymetallic nodule tail water multiplexing collection system, characterized by: The invention comprises a ore collecting head (1), a buffer silo (7), a suction water pump (3), a feeder (6) and a lifting pipeline (5), wherein the ore collecting head (1) comprises a closed cover (102), and a suction port (103) is provided at one end of the upper side of the closed cover (102), and a jet port (101) is provided at the other end, and the interior of the buffer silo (7) is divided into a buffer chamber (706) and a water outlet chamber (701) by a filter plate (702), wherein the buffer chamber (706) is provided with a tuberculosis inlet (703) and a tuberculosis outlet (701). The outlet (705) of the water outlet chamber (701) is provided with a tailwater outlet (704), the suction port (103) is connected to the nodule inlet (703) via a suction pipeline (8), the tailwater outlet (704) is connected to the water inlet end of the suction water pump (3) via a tailwater pipeline (9), the water outlet end of the suction water pump (3) is connected to the jet port (101) via a jet pipeline (2), and a conveyor (6) is provided between the nodule outlet (705) and the lifting pipeline (5).

2. The deep-sea polymetallic nodule tailwater multiplexing collection system according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The conveyor (6) comprises a conveyor casing (601) and an impeller (602) arranged in the conveyor casing (601), wherein the conveyor casing (601) is provided with a conveyor inlet (603) and a conveyor outlet (604), and the conveyor inlet (603) is connected to the nodule outlet (705) of the buffer bin (7), and the conveyor outlet (604) is connected to the lifting pipeline (5) through a pipeline.

3. The deep-sea polymetallic nodule tailwater multiplexing collection system according to claim 2 is characterized by: The conveying housing (601) has arc-shaped walls on both sides, and a sealing gasket (605) is provided at the head end of the impeller blade of the impeller (602). When any impeller blade rotates to a horizontal state, the sealing gasket (605) at the head end of the impeller blade contacts the corresponding side arc-shaped wall.

4. The deep-sea polymetallic nodule tailwater multiplexing collection system according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The lifting pipeline (5) comprises a seawater input section (502) and a lifting pipeline section (501) connected in sequence, wherein the seawater input section (502) is connected to the feeder (6), and a seawater inlet is provided at the head end of the seawater input section (502), and the lifting pipeline section (501) is provided with a lifting water pump (4).

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