Deep-Sea Ore Lifting With Surface Pumping and High-Pressure Silo Feeding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing deep-sea ore hydraulic lifting systems face issues with complex multi-stage pumps, reduced reliability, high maintenance costs, and ecological impact due to continuous seawater pumping, which affect the service life and environmental sustainability.
Innovation Solution
A deep-sea single high-pressure silo feeding device with a semi-closed loop system using a water injection pump, water injection riser, lifting riser, dewatering device, and pipeline, allowing for a seawater circulation system with minimal environmental disturbance, fewer moving parts, and easy maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multi-stage lifting pumps are used to lift ore-seawater slurry, then the lifting function is achieved, but the system complexity increases and reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the pump components from the seabed environment and relocates them to the mining ship on the sea surface. The lifting function is achieved through hydraulic pressure from a water injection pump on the ship, eliminating the need for complex multi-stage pumps at the seabed. This reduces system complexity and improves reliability by removing pumps from the difficult-to-maintain seabed environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical multi-stage pump system with a hydraulic lifting system. Instead of using mechanical pumps to directly lift slurry, the system uses hydraulic pressure from injected water to propel the slurry through risers to the surface, simplifying the mechanical components and improving system reliability.
2Ease of repair
If deep-sea lifting pumps are installed on the seabed or suspended on risers, then ore lifting is achieved, but maintenance and repair become difficult and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The water injection pump is extracted from the seabed environment and installed on the mining ship at the sea surface, where it can be easily accessed for maintenance and repair. This relocation significantly improves ease of repair while maintaining the ore lifting function through hydraulic injection through the water injection riser.
Solution Approach 2:
The system design allows the water injection pump to be easily serviced on the moving mining ship, which can return to port for maintenance. The pump system is designed to be self-contained and maintainable during operational cycles, improving both ease of repair and service life.
3Productivity
If deep-sea lifting pumps continuously pump seawater from the seabed, then ore lifting is achieved, but the ecological environment of the seabed is affected
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces a water injection riser as an intermediary that delivers water from the surface to the seabed ore collection point. This intermediary system allows controlled water injection to create hydraulic lift, achieving ore transport while minimizing direct pump contact with the seabed environment and reducing ecological disturbance.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical seabed pump system with a hydraulic injection system that delivers water through the water injection riser. This substitution reduces the need for continuous seawater pumping from the seabed, as the system uses controlled water injection to create hydraulic pressure for lifting, thereby reducing ecological impact while maintaining productivity.
4Speed
If high-speed flow of ore-seawater slurry is used, then lifting speed is improved, but pump wear increases and service life is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
By removing the pump from the high-speed slurry flow environment and relocating it to the surface, the invention eliminates the wear problem. The water injection pump handles only clean water at high pressure, not the abrasive ore-seawater slurry, thereby extending service life while maintaining lifting speed through hydraulic pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical pump that directly handled abrasive slurry with a hydraulic injection system that uses high-velocity water flow to propel the slurry. This substitution allows high-speed slurry transport while the pump itself only handles water, dramatically reducing wear and extending service life.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system achieves efficient, reliable, and environmentally friendly ore lifting with high pumping head and flow rate, minimizing ecological impact while ensuring uninterrupted operation and ease of maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
The water injection pump on the mining ship is used to pump seawater into the water injection riser according to the pressure and flow rate required by the ore hydraulic lifting system
Implementation Method 2
ore is fed into a high-pressure hydraulic pipeline by the deep-sea single high-pressure silo feeding device to be mixed with the seawater
Implementation Method 3
an obtained ore and seawater mixture is lifted to the mining ship on the sea surface
Implementation Method 4
The dewatering device on the mining ship is used to separate the seawater from minerals
Implementation Method 5
The water injection pump on the sea surface pumps the separated seawater into the water injection riser, thus forming a semi-closed loop circulation system
Data Source
AI summary
A deep-sea ore hydraulic lifting system with a deep-sea single high-pressure silo feeding device, comprises a water injection pump, a water injection riser, a deep-sea single high-pressure silo feeding device, a lifting riser, a dewatering device and a pipeline. The water injection pump and the dewatering device are fixed on a mining ship. The water injection pump is connected to the deep-sea single high-pressure silo feeding device through the water injection riser. The deep-sea single high-pressure silo feeding device is connected to the dewatering device through the lifting riser. The water injection pump is connected to the dewatering device through the pipeline. Seawater is pumped into the water injection riser by the water injection pump, then ore is fed into a high-pressure hydraulic pipeline by the deep-sea single high-pressure silo feeding device to be mixed with the seawater, and an obtained ore and seawater mixture is lifted.