The present invention relates to a method and a device for circulating water in the sea, such as in the sea or in a lake, in such a way that it transports water from the depths that has a large concentration of nutrient salts and phytoplankton up to the sea surface. Furthermore, the method can be used to neutralize acidic surface water by transporting it down calcareous seabed in depth and/or circulating water through a filter unit with a view to removing acid and CO2. The invention also indicates preferred applications of the method and device.

Background

The world faces major climate challenges. The temperature on the globe is increasing as a result of large greenhouse gas emissions over many years. As of today, there is nothing to suggest that we are able to prevent a temperature rise of at least 2°C (degrees Celius). Today we can all see clear signs of the consequences of that temperature rise, for example what NASA has recorded over the past 30 years. Today's temperature rise, which is estimated at 1.2 degrees, has led to far more forest fires, heavier downpours with subsequent floods, and melting of glaciers. There are few indications to suggest that we will be able to reverse this development with the measures that have been proposed. It is also unfortunately very difficult to agree on the proposed measures and live up to them.

One possibility that until now has been little discussed is to utilize the ocean's enormous potential to absorb and bind CO2. Half of all CO2 that is bound naturally on earth occurs in the sea in the areas with a high concentration of chlorophyll in the upper water layers.

NASA has for many years mapped areas with a high concentration of chlorophyll. These areas are mostly concentrated around the poles, where we get a natural upwelling of sea water from the depths. With this process, large quantities of nutrient salts, i.e. fertilizers from the sea's plants and microalgae, are pushed up to the surface, where a natural process begins where phytoplankton bind CO2 by photosynthesis. NASA's registrations also reveal that the areas north and south of the equator have a very low concentration of nutrient salts/chlorophyll in the upper water layers and thus low primary production of phytoplankton and binding of CO2.

Due to molecular properties, water will distribute itself in column in the ocean, depending on temperature. Due to its high temperature and density, the top layer of water will act as abarrier that prevents circulation of water from the surface to the depth. The temperature in the sea is highest at the surface, but falls quickly in a layer called the thermocline, and below this layer the temperature is mainly around 4 degrees Celsius. The temperature in the water also affects density, and therefore a corresponding curve for density is seen where the density increases with increasing depth, and there is a corresponding layer where the density in the water rises rapidly which is called the pycnocline. These layers create a barrier that prevents circulation between surface water and the water in the deep. The natural circulation in the areas around the equator where the surface temperature is highest is also hampered by the rising temperature, and everything indicates that this development will continue and probably accelerate. Other very serious consequences of this are reduction in fishing resources in these areas. An increase in surface temperature of the sea in these areas leads to a wilder and wetter climate, causing more frequent storms and very large amounts of rainfall over a short period of time with subsequent enormous destruction.

Along with the rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere, the uptake of CO2 in the sea has also increased. The ocean's ability to bind CO2 is affected by temperature, and at higher temperatures this binding capacity falls. Furthermore, an increased concentration of CO2 leads to the production of acid, with a subsequent drop in pH and acidification of the ocean. This has implications for a number of organisms in the sea.

Previously known solutions

The current situation as described above has been described and documented by marine biologists worldwide. Several imaginative proposals have also been put forward, which mostly involve the use of large electric pumps, which pump up nutrient-rich water from great depths up to the surface.

Disadvantages of the previously described solutions

A common denominator for previously described_solutions is that they will require enormous amounts of supplied energy, especially electrical energy, if one is to achieve the volumes that will be necessary to achieve the desired effects with pumping up water and some form of circulation of this water. There will also be meed of relatively complicated monitoring systems that require a lot of maintenance, and the equipment will have a relatively short lifespan before repairs and replacements have to be carried out. It therefore seems unrealistic to use previously describedjechnologies to bring large quantities of water with a high concentration of nutrient salts up to the surface from great ocean depths.

With regard to previously describedjolutions, reference should be made to the following patent documents:

US-7,465,123 (patent application 2007/160425), US-(2009/178686)US-(2002/031402), and Japanese Patent Application 2016/205360.

The first-mentioned US patent applies to a different area than the present invention, namely to reduce evaporation from the water surface by lowering the temperature of the surface water. The patent describes that the device comprises a collector with an edge or threshold just above the normal water table so that the waves strike over the edge and fill up the collector. The water is then led downwards from the water mass's top layer (epilimnion) to its bottom layer (hypolimnion) through a lower opening in the collector.

Purpose of the present invention

The purpose of the present invention to produce a new method and device which eliminates the disadvantages of the previously described_solutions, which involves a major difference and with a completely different purpose in relation to the aforementioned US patent.

Description of the invention:

The current method according to the invention is characterized by the fact that seawaves in the ocean are lifted into a device situated in the water surface. The device has a form where the upper side defines an inclined surface and a central water pool with a water level above the water surface, and as the water is forced to flow in towards the center of the pool and through an outlet and a pipe down into the body of water, where the water is discharged into the free body of water to thereby generate an upward flow of water that brings water upwards towards the surface, as stated in claim 1.

Preferred embodiments appear from claims 1-7.

The device according to the invention is characterized by a floating tank, where the upper side defines an inclined surface and a central basin with a bottom plate to collect water and an outlet from the bottom to which is connected a line that runs downwards under the device, as stated in claim 8. Preferred designs are given in requirements 9-16.

Preferred uses are stated in claims 17-20.

More detailed description of the invention

According to the invention, this new technology makes it possible in a simple way to transport huge quantities of water with a high concentration of nutrient salts from greater sea and ocean depths up to the upper water layers near the sea surface without the need to add energy from external sources, such as electrical energy to operate pumping structures. The device/system is also very simply technically constructed, it has absolutely no moving parts or operating systems that need technical maintenance.

The philosophy behind this invention is that a very simple system will be developed, which will pump or rather press warm surface water down to depths where the water contains higher levels of nutrient salts, practically without maintenance. When surface water with a higher temperature is transported to depths below 200 meters where the water temperature is typically 2-4 degrees, the warm surface water will partially give off heat, and this heating will lead to upwelling motion that carries the water in an upward current towards the surface. This circulation will bring along quantities of water with a high concentration of nutrient salts up to the surface from great ocean depths, and a natural primary production will start with the production of phytoplankton and then the binding of carbon dioxide - CO2.

In order to start this circulation, the energy contained in the wave movement on the sea surface is utilize, by the use of the waves' ability to focus, as seen when waves break against land as surf. The waves (or swells) can in many cases naturally build up many meters higher than the sea surface.

Preferred figures to illustrate the invention

The new device shall be explained further with reference to the attached figures in which Figure 1 shows a vertical cross-section of the device according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows a perspective side view of the device.

Figure 3 shows a partial view of the top surface of the tank with a recess in the surface Figures 4 and 5 show side sections and a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the device. What, according to the invention and as mentioned in this patent application, is done to achieve this out on the open sea, is shown by the device according to figures 1 and 2, and is the following:

- A dome shape plate shaped construction designed as a floating (floatable) tank (i.e. that it can float on the sea surface), where the plate when in use in the sea, lies upside down with its convex side facing upwards. The center of the plate comprises the basin formed by the bottom plate (flat), and an annular enclosing wall with an overflow rim around its entire circumference. This creates an open pool of water or a vessel in the plate. An outlet from the pool is also designed in the center of the bottom plate. The bottom plate preferably slopes downwards towards the center of the pool where the outlet is connected to a hose or pipe leading down into the sea. Such a location also gives the construction sufficient balance in the water.

There is a hole in the center for the outlet of water to a hose. The construction is composed of a single or two joined floating tanks, the bottom of which is cut out with a hole to make room for the line or pipe that will carry the water down into the depths. In the version shown later in figures 1-2, there are two joined tanks and with a saucer-shaped sloping edge, while the version in figures 4 and 5 comprises a single tank with a straight sloping surface.

The construction is made so that the buoyancy arrangement ensures that, even when the tub is filled with seawater, the construction sinks relatively little into the sea.

According to a preferred embodiment, these floating tanks can be ballasted with air/water so that the device's position (draft) in the sea can be regulated. It can be advantageous to adapt the position in the sea in relation to current and normal wave heights on the sea/ocean.

- The side edges of the plate have a given slope downwards and outwards from the edge around the vessel into the sea. It is also an advantage that on this inclined surface, there are so-called V-belt tracks. That is, depressions that, run from the middle, which are widest where the slope meets the sea and narrow upwards towards the edge of the vessel. The depressions taper towards the center so that they help to lift and increase the speed of the inflowing water from the wave so that it flows over the overflow edge and into the pool. Water is thus supplied to the pool continuously so that a permanent (varying) level difference occurs between the water level inside the pool and the sea surface outside, which provides the driving force for the surface water to be pushed down through the line or pipe to the greater water depth. it will also be necessary to equip the device with motion damping (wave damping), to reduce the devices movement as much as possible in relation to the movement of the waves. This can be done in several ways. By mounting motion-damping plates under the device at a given distance, a resulting relatively large water plane area will effectively dampen the movements of the device. The most effective and the preferred solution would be to mount a motion-damping skirt to the underside of the device. A movement damping skirt will consist of a large cylinder with a diameter equal to the maximum diameter of the structure and a length adapted to the design for the wave height at which the structure will operate. The cylinder under construction will contain hundreds of cubic meters of water and to move this large mass will require great forces. The construction will therefore, in most weather scenarios, lie almost completely still in the sea.

In some cases, it would be an advantage to load the anchor lines with weight to further dampen the structure's movements.

As mentioned earlier, there is a hole in the middle of the tub. This hole is preferably conical, with the largest diameter at the top. When the device is placed and anchored at the given location, an insulated flexible hose pass through the hole in the bottom of the vessel and down to the relevant depth (for example 200 metres). At the end of the flexible stroke there is a conical design that fits into the conical hole in the tub and the stroke is locked there. At the lower end of the hose there may be gravity elements (weights) which keep the hose taut in the sea. The purpose of using a heat-insulated (i.e. enclosed by a heat-insulating jacket) is to reduce the heat loss from the sea surface during transport down into the water depth, thereby retaining the upward driving force of the warm surface water as much as possible.

The device is now operational.

It is also possible to think of a different design than a round plate shape. We can imagine a square device or the construction is designed as a polygon.

Practical description of the device according to the invention.

It is now described with reference to figures 1 and 2, a ballastable floating tank 10 with a round shape with a diameter of approx. 20 meters. The device is preferably made of metal, for example steel or aluminium. It will also be possible to make it from concrete or plastic (hard plastic materials).

The tank 10 defines a central recess, a basin which can be filled with water, which is defined by a bottom plate 14 and around the inner circumference, a wall 12 which in the example has a height of 1 meter. The bottom 14 of the pool has a slight slope towards a centre, where there is an approximately circular opening/hole 16 with a diameter of 2 metres. Mounted floating on the sea/sea 22, the upper edge 18 of the wall 12 is located approx. 3 meters above sea level 22, while the pool’s bottom plate 14 is 2 meters above sea level. The total diameter of the inventive device can be 32 meters and the vessel's inclined surfaces 24 from the top of the vessel have an even slope outwards and downwards towards the sea surface 22, so that the upper side of the tank 10 has a dome/'dome shape. The tank 10 can be ballasted with water/air so that it floats in the water line 22 as shown in the figure, and in particular so that the pool's bottom plate 14 lies above the water surface 22.

On the underside of the main tank 10, an additional ballast bar floating tank 70 is preferably installed. Figure 2 is an expanded view of the device with the upper pool-forming tank 10 and the underlying tank 70. The two tanks 10,70 are assembled together as shown in Figure 1.

A hose or pipe 40 is connected to the hole/opening 16 which defines the outlet from the pool, and projects downwards into the body of water 60. The pipe 40 has, for example, a diameter of 2 meters and projects downwards to a suitable depth, for example 200 meters into the sea. The hose 40 preferably has a heat- insulating jacket.

Under the entire construction, i.e. downwards from the underside of the tank 70, there maybe installed wave-damping plates or enveloping skirts (not shown specifically in the figures) which may have a diameter of 32 meters and which project downwards into the sea, e.g. 3 meters.

When waves 23 strike this device, the water flows up the dome surface 24, over the edge 12 and down into the pool, and further downwards through the hose 40.

In order to enhance the flow of water up into the pool, the dome surface 24 is designed with wedge -shaped grooves 28 in a number around the circumference of the top surface as shown in Figure 3. Each groove has its greatest width at the outer edge of the tank and tapers and becomes steadily deeper in the upward direction towards the tub vertical upper inner edge 18.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, in the bottom section of the tank 10 at the outlet 16, a grate or frame 50 is designed which can accommodate a filter of, for example, calcareous sand which can remove acid directly in the water which flows down through the hose/pipe 40 and all the way down to the outlet down into the body of water.

The device is anchored to the seabed (not shown) with four or more anchor lines, of which two pieces 30 and 32 are shown in the figure.

When this device floats in the sea, the waves 23 hittin it are focused both by means of the slope of the edge surface 24 (for example 35.5°(degrees)) but also amplified by the wedge- shaped recessed grooves 28 in the upper side of the surface 24. The waves forces the seawater to wash up the dome 24, over the edge 18 and into the pool. As the water level 26 on top of the bottom plate 14 is higher than the sea/ocean surface 22, gravity will push it through the opening 16, through the filter 50 and the flexible hose 40.

When this warm water from the surface, which will typically maintain a temperature of 12- 24 degrees (depending on location), is transported down into the depths where the water temperature is lower, the warm water, which has a lower density, will have buoyancy and rise upwards towards the surface. The warmer surface water will also give off heat to the water in the depths and this will lead to further buoyancy, creating a continuous water circulation which in turn drags nutrient salts up to the surface. The rising water then forms an upward free flow in the free water mass 60 outside the pipe 40.

At a wave frequency of 6 seconds and given that each wave fills the vessel, which has a volume of 470 m3, this will correspond to 4,700 m3 per minute, or 280,000 m3 per hour, which in turn will correspond to 6,720,000 m3 per day. A plant of this size will then be able to revitalize with nutrient salts an area of more than 4 km2, which in turn will bind more than 8,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. Reference is made to figure 3 which illustrates how recessed channels can be designed in the plate surface 24. Such a channel is sketched. A groove/a wedge-shaped channel 45 is milled into the surface, which is widest at the edge where the wave 23 and narrowest towards the pool, and it is shallower at the edge and deepest at the pool edge 12/18. When the wave 23 hits the edge, the depression fills up and the water will accelerate upwards and into the pool as a result of this shape.

Figures 4 and 5 respectively show a side plan section of an alternative embodiment of the invention, comprising a more square than round floating tank 10 which can also be ballastable and where the upper surface 24 is a straight inclined surface. Since the tank only has a straight inclined surface 24, it is anchored to the seabed with an anchor line 46b or 46B via a swivel 48 so that the tank will constantly be rotated and adjusted with the inclined surface 24 against the direction of the waves. The tank comprises a chute formed in the inclined surface 24 with a similar design as shown in figure 3. Centrally through the tank's pool part, the line/pipe 40 projects down through the tank bottom into the water body 60.

Resistance in and drop loss/pressure drop in the pipe from the vessel down into the depth will limit circulation somewhat, and the resistance in the pipe can be calculated with can be calculated with Darcy-Weisbach's drop loss equation, where h _fL =drop loss due to friction, f _D = Darcy-Weisbach's friction factor ( coefficient, read from Moody's diagram), L-length of pipe, D=inner diameter in the pipe, g~gravity-acceleration and V~flow velocity.

Mainly 3 preferred uses of the device to solve the above-mentioned environmental challenges mentioned at the beginning of this text will be discussed here. It is envisaged that it can be used for significantly different purposes, each separately or in 2 or more editions at. the same time, as these conditions interfere with each other in different ways:

1) Increase the circulation of nutrient salts in the various depth layers in the sea. Warm surface water is transported down to an intermediate depth >200 meters - to increase the circulation of nutrient salts from this depth up to the surface, which can increase the growth of phytoplankton which in turn will give an increased CO2 uptake in the uppermost ocean layer and thereby an immediate increased binding of CO2. These will in turn be included in circulation up the food chain, but will provide a short-term binding of short-term CO2 which will also provide an increased amount of nutrients for fish in the area.

2) Neutralize water with a low pH at a deeper level in the sea: Acidic surface water with a high content, of CO2 is led down to the depth where - purpose is to neutralize the low pH by the acid (H+) reacting with CaCO3 (limestone) in the seabed and forming HCO2 which again acts as a buffer that increases the pH of the water. A previously described model assumes that energy was used to secrete acid (H+) in the surface water and then pump this down into the sea/depth, but the biological effects of this must be considered uncertain. A combined effect with the present invention involves both redistributing the warm surface water as described in exampie 1), but also simultaneously neutralizing acidified and C02-rich surface water.

3) In this alternative, the acidity of the water masses already close to the surface is reduced, with the help of the special filter construction, by pumping water through the bottom filter unit indicated at 50 in Figure 1. It can be carried out by the filter comprising a column of calcareous sand or similar that removes acid directly with the same principle as according to alternative 2) as described above. In this way, the ability to absorb CO2 in the surface water increases.

According to a fourth variant of the application according to the invention, for example, the water can be circulated through a breeding facility arranged in the sea (preferably in combination with alternative 3) as described above), for shells (which absorb CO2 and create stable lime compounds that bind CO2 in the form of CaCO3) and thus obtained a double effect when using the device.

By utilizing wave power for both short-term CO2 absorption in the food chain, neutralization of acidic seas both in the depth and at the surface (which in turn will increase CO2 absorption) and long-term CO2 sequestration, the invention will constitute a commercially launchable holistic concept that can solve one or more of the specified purposes at the same time.