Submersible Dredging System Using Methane Combustion
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Solution Overview
Problem
The accumulation of sediments in water reservoirs leads to reduced water storage capacity and increased methane emissions, which are potent greenhouse gases, and existing dredging methods, especially at great depths, are hazardous due to methane pockets and inefficient in addressing these issues.
Innovation Solution
A submersible system equipped with a dredging cutter powered by a turbine in an oscillating column, utilizing periodic explosions of compressed air and gaseous fuel to induce oscillation, allowing for effective sediment removal while simultaneously burning methane emissions, thereby addressing the methane entrapment and dredging challenges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If electric submersible pumps are used for dredging at great depths, then dredging capability is provided, but safety is compromised due to methane pockets
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful methane gas into a beneficial fuel source by using it to power the internal combustion engine that drives the dredging operation. The methane previously considered a safety hazard is now utilized as energy to enable dredging at great depths where electric pumps would be unsafe.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the methane produced by the sediments themselves to power the dredging operation. The internal combustion engine burns methane from the sediment pockets to drive the pump, creating a self-sustaining system where the harmful gas fuels the process that removes the sediments containing the gas.
2Quantity of substance
If sediments are accumulated in reservoirs, then water storage capacity is reduced, but methane emissions are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful methane emissions from sediment decomposition into a useful energy source. By capturing and burning the methane in an internal combustion engine, the system transforms the harmful greenhouse gas into useful work while simultaneously removing the sediments that produced the methane.
Solution Approach 2:
The system recovers the methane gas that would otherwise be emitted from the sediments and uses it to power the dredging operation. This recovery process eliminates the harmful emissions while the dredging removes the source material (sediments) from the reservoir.
3Use of energy by moving object
If methane is burned in an internal combustion engine, then energy is produced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The internal combustion engine serves multiple functions: it powers the dredging pump, generates electricity, and processes the methane from the sediments. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate systems, thereby managing complexity while achieving energy production from the methane.
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
Enables safe and efficient dredging of sediments at great depths, reducing methane emissions and improving water storage capacity while providing a sustainable energy source by utilizing methane as a fuel for the internal combustion engine.
Implementation Method 1
The engine operates on the explosion of a mixture of gaseous fuel and air
Implementation Method 2
periodic explosion of a mixture of compressed air and a gaseous fuel
Implementation Method 3
a liquid piston engine that incorporated a constant rotation turbine such as a Savonius rotor or a Darrieus rotor between two cylinders operating in alternating stroke
Implementation Method 4
Methane is produced in lakes and reservoirs from degradation of organic matter in sediments. Methanogenesis is the process of producing methane by microbes known as methanogens. The decomposition occurs in the absence of oxygen using the Carbon in organic matter under anoxic conditions.
Implementation Method 5
uses an oscillating column as the momentum instead of a flywheel
Data Source
AI summary
Water Reservoirs and wetlands are a major source of methane emissions contributing to greenhouse gases. The annual flood seasons contribute to movement and accumulation of sediments behind irrigation and hydropower dams. These sediments accumulate year after year, lead to loss of water storage capacity and ability to produce hydro-electricity. The invention being proposed to dredge deep sediments from reservoirs operates on the principle of using gaseous fuel from an external pipeline or collected methane emissions as fuel for a submersible internal combustion slurry system. The invention combines the features of an internal combustion liquid piston engine with a slurry turbine driving a dredging cutter. Slurry entering into the system forms a column that is set in oscillation through the explosion of air and fuel and is then pumped to shore.