Invention Number 1

Oil clean up is a very large, time consuming, expensive job. Many pieces of equipment are used to facilitate clean up, but of course they all have their advantages and disadvantages.

My aim to is develop two new pieces of equipment that could theoretically improve the removal of oil from water. The first piece will be in this post and the second will be in the post below. To begin, I will introduce a few of the pieces that already exist. I will follow with an explanation of my invention.

A few pieces of equipment used to to remove oil include:

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Booms: Various types of booms are used for different situations including fence, inflatable, and round or curtain booms. The booms fence in the oil that floats on the surface of the water and contains it.

Weir Type Skimmer

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Skimmers: These work to skim oil off the surface of the water. Types of skimmers include weir type, disc skimmers, brush skimmers, drum skimmers, and rope mops (seen below).

Rope Mop

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Rope Mop: These are typically used from docks or beaches. They contain a rope that absorbs oil as it's dragged across the surface of the water. It is then pulled in through a pulley system in a skimmer that squeezes the rope and excess oil out of the rope and into a holding tank. The video below shows a rope mop in action.

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This leads us to my invention. Since rope mops are best used from the shoreline, I though it would be more useful to find a way to use a rope mop in open water. 

My invention: The Rope Mop Boat Attachment

Explanation: A rope mop skimmer (the large piece of equipment the rope is pulled into) and placed on the deck of a boat and secured. The rope mop is threaded through a moveable pulley system that can be held by a person or attached to the boat. Once the pulley system is held over the water. The skimmer is turned on and the rope mop can circulate through the water and absorb oil. Any oil removed from the rope in the skimmer is put in a holding tank on the deck. The boat can anchor and thoroughly clean one area, then move to another area and clean again until the holding tank is full.  The photo below illustrates my invention (forgive my lack of artistic ability).

Invention Number 2

My second invention is also designed to be used from the deck of a boat. Since this invention can be folded up compactly and stored easily, this is ideal even for oil tankers to keep on their boats in the event of a spill.  Many boats have extendable arms such as this one:

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My invention makes use of these arms (although they would need to be much larger for use on a oil tanker). 

Invention #2: Fine mesh netting to skim oil

Explanation: These large sheets, or rectangular pieces, of fine mesh allow water to pass through, but not the thick oil. The sheets have metal rings at the top to attach them to the arms. There are also rings at the bottom. Workers thread rope through the rings at the bottom before lowering the mesh into the water. This allows them to pull the mesh back on the boat when it is heavy with oil. The net is then sprayed with a hose to remove the excess oil. It can then be put back in the water for another pass through.

The picture below demonstrates the fine mesh netting sheet in use.