Patent Application
20120285051
The present invention relates generally to remediation of contamination in aquatic environments, and more particularly, to an apparatus, system and method for remediation of contamination in aquatic environments.
Manufacturing facilities may use water from natural sources, e.g., rivers and streams, for cooling plant processes. The water often contains entrained silt or other contaminants, that may be carried into the plant along with the water, even though wire mesh screens may be used to filter the water brought into the plant. The entrained silt or other contaminants may accumulate in conduits, e.g., pipes, sluices, weirs, or spillways used to carry the water, particularly as the water leaves the plant, because the flow may be slowest where the water is returned to its original source, and entrained silt and contaminants are more likely to deposit in the conduits when the flow becomes slower where the water exits the plant. This may result in a build-up of silt or other contaminants in the conduits where the water exits the plant that must be periodically remediated.
Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus, system and method for remediation of contamination in aquatic environments.
A first aspect of the present invention provides an apparatus, comprising: a vessel including an opening, wherein when the opening is facing a bottom of a body of water, and the vessel is in direct physical contact with the bottom of the body of water, wherein the vessel has been configured to contain and suspend materials inside the vessel; and an uptake line coupled to the vessel and configured to transport the contained and suspended materials from an interior of the vessel to an exterior of the vessel, wherein the uptake line includes an attachment selected from the group consisting of an impeller and a sliding collar.
A second aspect of the present invention provides an apparatus, comprising:
a vessel including an opening, wherein the opening is facing a bottom of a body of water, and the vessel is in direct physical contact with the bottom of the body of water, wherein the vessel has been configured to contain and suspend materials interior the vessel; and an uptake line coupled to the vessel and configured to transport the contained and suspended materials from an interior of the vessel to an exterior of the vessel.
A third aspect of the present invention provides an apparatus, comprising: a vessel including an opening, wherein the opening is facing a bottom of a body of water, and the vessel is in direct physical contact with the bottom of the body of water, wherein the vessel has been configured to transport the contained and suspended materials from the interior of the vessel to the exterior of the vessel through at least one discharge pipe; and a slidable collar having a first end and a second end, wherein the first end has a first opening and the second end has a second opening, and wherein the first opening encloses and slidably couples at least one discharge pipe and the second opening encloses and slidably couples to a pump housing.
A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a method for transporting contained and suspended materials in water from an interior of the vessel to an exterior of the vessel, comprising: providing a vessel that has been equipped with a water or air impeller to transport the contained and suspended materials from the interior of the vessel to the exterior of the vessel through at least one discharge pipe; suspending the contained and suspended materials in the water from the sediment layer at the bottom of the body of water into the interior of the vessel; and transporting the contained and suspended materials in the water from the interior of the vessel to the exterior of the vessel via the at least one discharge pipe.
A fifth aspect of the present invention provides a method for transporting contained and suspended materials in water from an interior of the vessel to an exterior of the vessel, comprising: equipping an uptake line with a water or air impeller for withdrawing the contained and suspended materials in the water from a sediment layer at the bottom of a body of water; withdrawing the contained and suspended materials in the water from the sediment layer at the bottom of the body of water into the interior of the vessel; and transporting the contained and suspended materials in the water from the interior of the vessel to the exterior of the vessel via the uptake line.
The features of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
“Extraction Lunchbox (ELB) Mini-Vac” for remediation of contamination in aquatic environments. The apparatus 100 comprises: a vessel 10 including an opening 15, and an uptake line 62 coupled to the vessel 10 and configured to transport the contained and suspended materials 20 from an interior 25 of the vessel to an exterior 30 of the vessel 10. The opening 15 is facing a bottom 35 of a body of water 40, and the vessel 10 is in direct physical contact with the bottom 35 of the body of water 40. The vessel 10 has been configured to contain and suspend materials inside the vessel 10. The uptake line 62 includes a water or air impeller 5 selected from the group consisting of an impeller, e.g. an air and/or water cannon, a pump, and a sliding collar.
The vessel 10 may be made of metal or plastic. The metal may be stainless steel, copper, aluminum or alloys of steel, copper or aluminum. The plastic may be polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, high density polyethylene, high density polypropylene, polyimide, silicone rubber, and the like.
The uptake line 62 may be a metal or plastic tube slidably coupled to a lateral wall 45 of the vessel 10 by a slidable coupling 50. The slidable coupling 50 may be a compressible collar that exerts a frictional resistance to movement against a surface 60 of the uptake line 62, and against a surface 65 of the wall 45, so the uptake line may be vertically positioned along a longitudinal axis 70, by overcoming the frictional resistance to movement, thus moving the vessel 10 in one of the directions depicted by the bidirectional arrow 75. Hereinafter, “slidably coupled” is defined as a mechanical or physical coupling that may be formed or de-coupled by re-establishing or overcoming the frictional resistance to movement, thus holding the vessel 10 in place, or moving the vessel 10 in one of the directions depicted by the bidirectional arrow 75. For example, re-establishing or overcoming the frictional resistance to movement when the compressible collar exerts frictional resistance to movement against the surface 60 of the uptake line 62, and against a surface 65 of the wall 45.
In
The vessel 10 may be configured with 360° directional underwater propulsion units 17 so that the opening 15 of the apparatus 100 may be geographically located over the bottom 35 of the body of water 40, e.g. over selected polar coordinates of the bottom 35 of the body of water 40.
The vessel 10 may be “lowered” into position by mechanical or other means, in accordance with the step 620 of the method 600, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,264,713, issued Sep. 4, 2007, to Thomas J. Kryzak, and depicted in FIG. 3A of U.S. Pat. No. 7,264,713, which is herein incorporated by reference. Alternatively, the vessel 10 may be “lowered” into position by operably coupling the vessel 10 to a lifting bag, in tandem with a mechanical lifting device and a rigging unit. Lifting may be advantageously augmented by a buoy/float device with or without a 360° multi-directional propulsion unit.
By removing air/water/materials out of an interior 25 of the vessel 10, a weight of the vessel 10 may drive the edge 80 of the vessel 10 deeper into the bottom 35 of the body of water 40, resulting in creating a releasable seal 85 at the edge 80 of the vessel 10, that may be formed from the sediment layer of the bottom 35 outside of the vessel 10 pressing against the edge 80 and the bottom 35 of the body of water 40. The releasable seal 85 thereby may isolate the interior 25 from the body of water 40, and/or the bottom 35 of the body of water 40, that may be outside the vessel 10.
Hereinafter, “releasably sealing” or “releasably sealed” is defined as forming or breaking or cleaving or severing a mechanical and physical coupling, e.g. the “releasable seal”, between the edge 80 of the vessel 10 and the sediment layer of the bottom 35 outside of the vessel 10.
Alternatively the releasable seal 85 may be a flex seal between the edge 80 of the vessel 10 and the bottom 35 of the body of water 40. Flex seals, e.g. apron bladders, or apron bladder bundles have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 7 497 645, issued Mar. 3, 2009, to Thomas J. Kryzak, which is herein incorporated by reference.
The vessel 10 may be configured with agitating devices 90, e.g., multidirectional rotating air/water jets, whips, chains, drills, cutters, augers, blades, and choppers. Water may be drawn from the exterior 30 of the vessel 10 into the interior 25 of the vessel 10 in the direction of the arrow 97 to suspend the contained and suspended materials 20 from the bottom 35 of the body of water 40, so the suspended contained and suspended materials 20 may be transported from the interior 25 to the exterior 30 of the vessel 10. The vertical position of the agitating devices 90 along the longitudinal axis 70 may be raised or lowered by raising or lowering pipe 95 within shaft 100 of the vessel 10, wherein the pipe 95 is operably coupled to the agitating devices 90 at the union 115. Hereinafter, the term “operably coupled” is defined as physically or mechanically joining or forming a mechanical or physical union between two parts, e.g., between the pipe 95 and the agitating devices 90, so there is free 360° rotation at the union 115 between the pipe and the agitating devices. The vertical position of the agitating devices 90 may be fixed in place by aligning the support 110 with support pins 105 of a height adjustment device, wherein the support 110 is operably coupled to the pipe 95.
The vessel 10 may be configured with a still, motion or TV camera and lights for underwater viewing.
The vessel 10 may be supported by a sled that allows travel across or though the bottom 35 of the body of water 40.
In one embodiment, a slidable collar 55 has a first end 56 and a second end 57. The first end 56 has a first opening 58 and the second end 57 has a second opening 59. The first opening 58 encloses and slidably couples at least one discharge pipe 145 and the second opening 59 encloses and slidably couples to a pump housing 63.
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, many modifications and changes will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the appended claims are intended to encompass all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of this invention.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2010/058538 | 12/1/2010 | WO | 00 | 6/1/2012 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61265733 | Dec 2009 | US |
