TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to naval constructions, and particularly to an apparatus for the treatment of fluids in naval constructions.

In naval constructions, especially of a certain size, there are problems in handling fluids and particularly liquids to be used on board. Typically, a major problem is associated with the liquid, i.e. sea-water taken on board through suitable inlets, which is stored in ballast tanks and contains marine microorganisms or other microorganisms existing in the sea-water as taken on board; due to stagnation inside said tanks, this water tends to accumulate a further very high bacterial load such as to be considered as harmful when it is released. To overcome this type of drawback, several attempts were made to treat the on-board water but unfortunately, the substances used for the treatment were found to be similarly harmful, and the problem is therefore still unsolved to date.

Under another completely different perspective, particularly when the boats are provided with diesel inboard engines, another problem is that an optimal combustion is difficult to be obtained, mainly due to the existence of suspended or emulsified solids in the same fuel. This leads to a phenomenon of poor combustion which generates highly pollutant fumes and greatly decreases the yield of machines utilizing the fuel, regardless if they are heat- machines or engines having an increased fuel consumption.

The present invention seeks to overcome these and other drawbacks by providing an apparatus which allows the fluids to be treated in such a way to improve the overall operational conditions of the naval constructions in which it is employed. Therefore, the object of the present invention is an apparatus for the treatment of fluids in naval constructions or the like, comprising a treatment tube connected to flow lines of said fluids and provided with flow control means of the same fluids, said tube being connected to ultrasound generation means.

In a first embodiment, said tube is connected to the feed line of the ballast chambers, said feed line comprising a sea-water inlet and a suction pump connected to the feed line of said ballast chambers.

In a second embodiment, said tube is connected to the fuel supply line which serves to supply fuel to the internal combustion machines, engines and/or boilers.

Preferably, the applied ultrasounds are generated at a frequency ranging from 10 to 40 kHz, and preferably from 17 to 26 kHz. The frequency of the applied vibration remains constant regardless of the type of structure to which the vibration is applied.

The power consumption is usually from 200 Watt to 60 kWatt; particularly for the embodiment in which said tube is connected to the feed line of the ballast chambers, the power consumption is from 2 kWatt to 52.8 Watt, while when said tube is connected to said fuel supply line, the power consumption is from about 300 Watt to 9.6 kWatt.

Other advantages and features of the apparatus according to the present invention will be apparent from the following description of two embodiments thereof which are provided by way of illustration, and not by way of limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a first embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention; and

Figure 3 is a preferred embodiment of the tube as used in the apparatus according to the present invention. In Figure 1 there is shown a diagram depicting a first embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention; reference numeral 1 denotes the sea-water inlet communicating, through the line 101 in which the filter 2 is interposed, with treatment tubes 103 and 203, which are provided with respective ultrasound generators 104 and 204. The tube 103 is located at the line 101 and it is isolated between valves 113 and 123, while the tube 203 is located at the parallel branch 401 and it is isolated between valves 213 and 223. A third circuit branch, as denoted by 201 and provided with a valve 211 , allows both the treatment tubes to be bypassed.

The sensor 141 is located downstream of tubes 103, 203, following the shut-off valve 131 , to detect the fluid flowing through the line; at this time, the pump 5 feeds water through the line 301 to the three ballast chambers 311, 321 and 331 , which are controlled by a respective pair of valves 341. Then, the circuit is looped by the line 301 immediately downstream of the valve 121 in the line 101.

In Figure 2 there is shown a second embodiment of the apparatus of the invention; reference numeral 6 denotes the fuel tank containing fuel such as diesel oil or the like, which is connected to a line 106 provided with a shut- off valve 16 to deliver the fuel to the tube 7 in communication with the ultrasound generator 4. The line 106 is in communication with the pump 8 through the valve 126, and the pump 8 delivers the fuel to the heat-machines or the like. The line 106 is also provided with a bypass line 206 controlled by the valve 216 which allows the treatment tube 7 to be cut out from the circuit leading to the pump 8.

In Figure 3 there is shown a preferred embodiment of the treatment tube of the apparatus according to the present invention, which treatment tube is here denoted by 10. The tube includes a substantially parallelepiped- shaped body comprising major side walls 12 and minor side walls 11 , as well as end walls 13 where ports 16 are formed to connect the tube to the line which is the line 106 in the example as shown, but which could also be the line 101 in the case of the embodiment of Figure 1. The side walls each comprise a plate 14 and 15 respectively, which is fixedly located at the body of the tube. A plurality of transducers 20 are present on the plate 14 of the wall 12 and conveniently spaced from each other, such transducers being connected to the ultrasound generator in a manner not shown in the figure. The transducers can be located at one or more plates of the tube 10.

The operation of the apparatus according to the invention will become apparent from the following. Referring to the embodiment shown in Figure 1 , the ultrasonic treatment of water to be delivered to the ballast chambers is far the cheapest and most environmentally friendly system to prevent the proliferation of bacteria as already discussed above. The bubble interface generated by ultrasounds can reach a temperature of about 5000°C and a pressure of 300 bars in one microsecond, resulting in a lethal effect on the microorganisms in the water as sucked in to be delivered to the ballast chambers. Furthermore, the boat will have no adverse environmental effects due to the fact that no toxic or harmful substances are introduced into the ballast chambers. Advantageously, the tube in which the treatment is carried out can be either one tube or a system of parallel tubes, so that the ultrasonic action is partitioned over reduced flows and the efficiency of the treatment itself is improved, as it is apparent from the above-illustrated operational example. Advantageously, the ballast chambers can be coupled to the above-described hydraulic circuit such as that the ultrasonic treatment can be carried out a number of times.

In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the ultrasonic treatment, based on the same operation principles as above, i.e. on the extremely great energy which is developed at the surface of the resulting bubble interface, is now used to lower the surface tension of the fuel in order to allow for an improved interaction with the comburent and a combustion which is much closer to the stoichiometric ratios. Accordingly, this leads to a decrease of O2, CO and an increase of CO2 in the exhaust gas, as well as to an improvement in power consumption and quality of emissions.

Preferably, the applied ultrasounds are generated at a frequency ranging from 10 to 40 kHz, and preferably from 17 to 26 kHz. The frequency of the applied vibration remains constant regardless of the type of structure to which the vibration is applied.

The power consumption is usually from 200 Watt to 60 kWatt; particularly for the embodiment in which said tube is connected to the feed line of the ballast chambers, the power consumption is from 2 kWatt to 52.8 KWatt, while when said tube is connected to said fuel supply line, the power consumption is from about 300 Watt to 9.6 kWatt. However, it is to be considered that the values as reported here are referred to medium sized boats; indeed, it is obvious that when the systems are increased in size, the power consumption of the fuel supply line should be also considered as based on orders of magnitude similar to those used for the feed line of the ballast chambers.

The treatment tube can be conveniently made as shown in Figure 3, i.e. as a substantially parallelepiped-shaped chamber 10 longitudinally arranged with respect to the flow line of the fluid to be treated with ultrasounds; such a chamber is provided with plates mounted to side-walls carrying a plurality of transducers coupled to the ultrasound generator. Such a type of configuration allows for the manufacture of treatment tubes reduced in overall dimensions. Advantageously, such tubes will be arranged in a substantially vertical configuration.

The so-conceived apparatus enhances several functional and operational aspects in the field of naval constructions by improving the efficiency and ecofriendliness of boats. Obviously, this type of apparatus can be readily used with other types of industrial applications such as thermal power plants and the like.