FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to oil spill remediation.

BACKGROUND

[0002] On April 20, 2010, just off the Gulf Coast, a damaged oil-rig burst. This destruction lasted nearly 3 months because they could not find a way to seal the leak until the July 15, July, 2010. The well let 35,000-60,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico. Imagine: an estimated 5,000,000 barrels of oil escaped into the sparkling blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The Dccpwater Horizon is the biggest marine oil spill known to mankind. There were many failed attempts at capping the leak, but none could contain the force of the gushing oil. Nearly 10% of the gulf coastline was affected including the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Tar balls (balls of crude oil mixed with shells and ocean residues) continue to show up on the shores of the gulf. Many ecosystems are still being affected due to this catastrophe.

[0003] This oil spill caused irreparable damage to the ecosystems bordering the gulf. By

November 2, 2010, almost 7,000 dead animals had been collected from the shores of the Gulf, including 6,104 birds, 609 sea turtles, 100 mammals, and 1 reptile. This does not take into account the thousands of animals that were found alive but visibly effected by the oil.

[0004] In addition to the extensive damage caused to ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico, BRITISH

PETROLEUM (BP), the company responsible for the Deepwater Horizon, has confirmed that this unfortunate accident was a very expensive one. On July 5, 2010, representatives of BP stated in a press conference that "The cost of the response to date amounts to approximately $3.12 billion dollars including the cost of the spill response, containment, relief well drilling, grants to the Gulf states, claims paid, and federal costs." An additional estimated $20 billion has been spent on further research and future clean up of the oil spill. [0005] BP workers began immediately to try to cap the gushing oil well. The scary part of it all was that BP did have a plan set out for this type of emergency and their emergency plan was followed. However, this plan was unsuccessful and the workers were unable to cap the leak. For several weeks, many methods to cap this oil well were attempted, including the use of remote-controlled robots a mile under the water surface, guided by engineers, attempting to repair the hole in the well. None were successful. Finally, on July 15, 2010, success was achieved to the relief of many, including environmentalists, fishermen, politicians, and residents etc. After 3 months of intense work, the well was finally capped.

[0006] BP was held responsible for this disaster and began the process of cleaning up the millions of gallons of oil in the Gulf immediately. Again, many methods were attempted and many failed. The cleanup began with booms, made from a 3,000 year old Egyptian plant called kenaf being placed in the water to assist in the cleanup. At first, BP scientists and engineers began to burn the oil off the surface of the water. This approach was not successful because the oil molecules had mixed with water molecules (97% of the oil molecules had mixed with water) making it nearly impossible to maintain proper burning. Another downfall to this technique was the fact that CO, C02 and fumes were being released into the atmosphere which posed a threat to the respiratory health of thousands of people. A second approach used in the clean-up was to collect the surface oil with containment booms and then to use large vacuums to remove the oil by suctioning it into barges. This method of clean-up was somewhat successful but was a very slow process given the large quantity of oil involved in the spill. Environmentalists warned that this method would leave the whole Gulf at risk of further damage by hurricanes or other severe storms. It was generally agreed that other methods had to be found. Suggestions about substances that might be able to absorb oil started coming in from around the globe.

[0007] BP shifted its methods and tried using floating polyethylene pads in an effort to soak up the oil. This idea was quickly overridden by thousands of other suggestions such as human hair mats, a highly-absorbent peat moss, and fibre-glass insulation that deflected water and only absorbed oil. Mats of human hair and mushrooms were created and used in attempt to clean up the oil. A company called Amira EET suggested a product which they marketed called, Arch-Microbes. Arch-Microbes consist of a mixture of naturally-occurring microbes found in deep ocean vents. These microorganisms consume petroleum and soon after produce oxygen. They could be used in repairing marine dead zones as they cleaned up the petroleum. An important feature of this approach is that, once the microbes consume the oil, they die off. The company claimed that this method worked in a large-scale oil spill in 1990. Many people were against the use of the product, Arch-Microbes, because they were worried about possible negative effects that these microbes could have on the environment in the Gulf.

[0008] Although many cleanup methods have been attempted, so far, scientists, engineers and environmentalists have yet to find an approach that effectively absorbs the oil residues and does not have some negative effect on the environment. The goal of this project is to identify a substance that has a large capacity to hold oil and which poses a minimal or no negative effect on the environment. In doing so, we are hopeful that we can contribute to the discovery of a substance that could not only be used in cleaning up the remains of this disaster, but also could be applied to any future oil spills, thus contributing to the preservation of our natural environment.

SUMMARY OF THE GENERAL INVENTIVE CONCEPT

[0009] The following presents a simplified summary of the general inventive concept herein to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to restrict key or critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention beyond that explicitly or implicitly described by the following description and claims.

[00010] In an exemplary embodiment, there is provided a device for recovery of oil and/or one or more oil constituents from a body of water, comprising an enclosure with a cavity. The cavity includes at least one sample of absorbent materials therein and hi a configuration to permit water to migrate therethrough and for at least a portion of the oil and/or one or more oil constituents contained in the water to be retained in the sample, the enclosure being arranged, in an operative condition, for the sample to be in fluid communication with the water, the sample including three or more of bone meal, oat hulls, down feathers and mushrooms.

[00011] In an exemplary embodiment, the enclosure is provided in the form of a quilted pad, a mat, a boom, a raft and/or a panel. [00012] In an exemplary embodiment, the absorbent materials include bone meal, oat hulls and down feathers in substantially equal proportions.

[00013] In an exemplary embodiment, the absorbent materials including cotton balls, oat hulls and oyster mushrooms in substantially equal proportions.

[00014] In another exemplary embodiment, there Is provided a method for recovering oil and/or one or more oil constituents from a body of water, comprising passing the water through, or exposing the water to, an enclosure containing at least one sample of absorbent materials including three or more of bone meal, oat hulls, down feathers and mushrooms and in a configuration to permit water to migrate therethrough and for at least a portion of the oil and/or one or more oil constituents contained in the water to be retained in the sample, the enclosure being arranged, in an operative condition, for the sample to be in fluid communication with the water.

[00015] In another exemplified embodiment, a composition is provided for use in recovery of spillages of petroleum and/or derivatives thereof, comprising a first lipid bearing cell wall constituent derived from naturally-occurring plant, fruit, grain, vegetable or legume materials, and a second lipid bearing non-cell wall particle constituent of an effective particle size to be interspersed with the first constituent.

[00016] In one example, the first constituent is derived from outer fruit casings of grains. The grains may include oats and soya beans.

[000171 In another example, the grains include one or more of corn, safflower, oats, rice, cotton, sunflower, soybean, peanut, mustard, canola, camelina, coconut, crambe and palm palm.

[00018] In another example, the second constituent includes bone meal, and/or features or constituents thererof or derivatives therefrom.

[00019] In another exemplified embodiment, there is provided a process for recovery of oil and/or one or more oil constituents from a body of water, comprising providing a grouping or sample of recovery units, the recovery units being of a size and configuration to allow the grouping to be deposited, broadcast, delivered to or located partially or fully "en masse" or in plural groups or plural packages on the body of water, each recovery unit containing one or more oleophilic materials for collecting the oil and/or oil constituents therein, collecting the recovery units en masse, or in plural groups or plural packages and removing a portion of the oil and/or oil constituents therefrom.

[00020] In an exemplified embodiment, after the removal of a portion of the oil and/or oil constituents therefrom, the recovery units are re-located on the body of water.

[00021] In an exemplified embodiment, the recovery units include a composition as herein described

[00022] In an exemplified embodiment, the removal of oil and/or oil constituents is carried out by squeezing, rolling and/or centrifugation.

[00023] In an exemplified embodiment, the recovery units being in the form of matt or sachet.

[00024] In an exemplified embodiment, the sachet being in the general size of a tea bag, a pita, a pie, a pizza, or a donut.

[00025] In an exemplified embodiment, the sachet or matt having dimensions ranging from about one inch to about 10 feet or any range therebetween in any increment or unit of measurement.

[00026] In an exemplified embodiment, the sachet or matt having dimensions ranging from about one inch to about 24 inches or any range therebetween in any increment or unit of measurement..

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[00027] Several exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be provided, by way of examples only, with reference to the appended drawings, wherein:

[00028] Figure 1 is a schematic view of alternative exemplary devices;

[00029] Figure 2 is a perspective view of a test device for testing different absorbent materials;

[00030] Figure 3 is an illustration of an exemplary device;

(000311 Figure 4 is a collection of oyster mushrooms located in the test device of figure 2; [00032] Figures 5, 6 and 7 are plots of characteristics for different samples;

[00033] Figures 8, 9 and 10 are plots of additional characteristics; and

[00034] Figures 11, 12, 13 and 14 are schematic views of a process for oil remediation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[00035] It should be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of "including," "comprising," or "having" and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms "connected," "coupled,"

"adjoined," and "mounted," and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. In addition, the terms "connected" and "coupled" and variations thereof are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings. Furthermore, and as described in subsequent paragraphs, the specific mechanical, other configurations illustrated in the drawings are intended to exemplify embodiments of the invention. However, other alternative mechanical or other configurations are possible which are considered to be within the teachings of the instant disclosure.

[00036] Provided herein is a device for recovery of oil and/or one or more oil constituents from a body of water, comprising an enclosure with a cavity. The cavity includes at least one sample of absorbent material or materials therein and in a configuration to permit water to migrate therethiough and for at least a portion of the oil and/or one or more oil constituents contained in the water to be retained in the sample.

[00037] The enclosure is arranged, in an operative condition, for the sample to be in fluid communication with the water, In one example, the enclosure is provided in the form of a quilted pad, a mat, a boom, a raft and/or a panel, or another structure that enables the sample to be exposed to the body of water. In one example, the sample may include three or more of bone meal, oat hulls, down feathers and mushrooms.

[00038] In an exemplary embodiment, the absorbent materials includes bone meal, oat hulls and down feathers in substantially equal proportions, or in other suitable or effective combinations and proportions to provide for recovery of oil.

[00039] Since oil spills continue to pose a real and significant danger to the natural environment, we believe that studies like ours need to be conducted and tested for effectiveness before the oil spill occurs. The experience of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the calamity of errors which followed in the attempt to clean up the spilled oil must not be repeated. If and when such a disaster occurs in the future, scientists and engineers must have reliable scientific knowledge and corresponding tested alternative strategies to immediately implement with a strong likelihood of success. If an oil spill were to occur, then our mat can be reeled out from a ship or be deployed in other ways, and sit on or near the surface of the ocean, or other body of water. After the surface layer of oil is absorbed, then the mat can be reeled back onto the boat, and the oil may be reclaimed.

{00040] In another exemplified embodiment, there is provided a method for recovering oil and/or one or more oil constituents from a contaminated body of water. The method comprises passing the water through, or exposing water to, an enclosure containing at least one sample of absorbent materials including three or more of bone meal, oat hulls, down feathers and mushrooms and in a configuration to permit water to migrate therethrough and for at least a portion of the oil and/or one or more oil constituents contained in the water to be retained in the sample. The enclosure is arranged, in an operative condition, for the sample to be in fluid communication with the contaminated water.

[00041 J In another exemplified embodiment, a composition is provided for use in recovery of spillages of petroleum and/or derivatives thereof, comprising a first lipid bearing cell wall constituent derived from naturally-occurring plant, fruit, grain, vegetable or legume materials, and a second lipid bearing non-cell wall particle constituent of an effective particle size to be interspersed with the first constituent.

[00042] In one example, the first constituent is derived from outer fruit casings of grains. The grains may include oats and soya beans.

[00043] In another example, the grains include one or more of corn, safflower, oats, rice, cotton, sunflower, soybean, peanut, mustard, canola, camelina, coconut, cTambe and palm.

[00044] In another example, the second constituent includes bone meal, and/or feathers or parts or constituents thereof.

[00045] The compositions contemplated herein lend themselves to be used in a number of different formats. For instance, the composition may be located in a large scale mat, in the order of tens of feet in width/length and spread onto a contaminated water body. Alternatively, the composition may be located in a small scale mat or package, akin to a tea bag or the like, to form a manufacturable unit which then may be distributed over a contaminated water body and then harvested and processed to remove oil and then reused.

[00046] As will described, in one example, a mat is provided which is made of fibrous material and is shown to be effective in absorb oil in an aquatic environment.

EXPERIMENTAL:

[00047] PART A: To determine the efficacy of different materials, we carried out the following steps for each material. We packed the material in the open end of the puck shown in figure 2. We stapled a top screen onto the puck to hold Fibrous Substance therein. We located the puck containing the Fibrous Substance over a funnel and the large graduated cylinder. We poured 20 mL of oil from the small graduated cylinder, repetitively, over the puck until oil started excessively dripping into large graduated cylinder. We let the puck drip oil into the large graduated cylinder for 24 hours. We then recorded how much oil drips through the puck into the large graduated cylinder. The results are shown in figure 5.

[00048] PART B: We then selected different combinations of materials. For each sample of different combinations, we measured lOOmL of each material in the combination of three, and placed in a filter together. We mixed the three materials so that they were relatively even spread throughout the filter. We placed the filter in a funnel held in a graduated cylinder. We repeated poured 20 mL of oil evenly over the filter using a small graduated cylinder, until oil started excessively dripping through the filter into the large graduated cylinder. We then let the Filter sit in ambient conditions 24 hours. We then measured the excess oil that dripped through the filter and we recorded the amount of oil that was poured into and dripped out of the filter.

[00049] PART C: To form our mat, we cut two circles of nylon fabric with a diameter of 11cm. (Area= 95.0 cm ² ). We sewed the nylon fabric together along the perimeter of the fabric, but left 5cm open at one end to create a pouch. We then packed the nylon fabric pouch with the best combination found in Part B. We sewed the pouch's opening closed. We then hand sewed the pattern onto the Mat. To test the pattern, we situated the mat inside the filter. We placed the filter inside the funnel that is held in a graduated cylinder. We repeatedly poured 5mL of oil into the filter evenly across the mat until oil was excessively dripping through the filter into the graduated cylinder. We recorded the amount of oil that is poured into, and dripped out of the filter.

PART A

[00050] Fibre Glass had the highest percentage of oil absorption (92.9%) followed by Yellow Oysters (87.3%), Oat Hulls (86.7%) and Down Feathers (83.9%).

[00051] The following fibrous substances proved to he less absorptive (in declining absorptive potential): Cotton Balls, Saw Dust, Bone Meal, Peat Moss, Kitty Litter, and Vermiculite.

PART B

[00052] The combination of [bone meal+oat hulls+down feathers], had the highest percentage of oil absorption (97.6%) followed by the combinations of [bone meal+fibre-glass insulation+down feathers] (96.8%), [cotton balls+fibre-glass insulation+ down feathers] (95.5%), and [cotton balls+ oat hulls+ oyster mushrooms] (95.0%)

[00053] The combination of [cotton balls+oyster mushrooms+down feathers] (63.60%) proved to have the lowest percent absorbency in the combination testing.

PART C

[00054] Pattern #2 (89.5%) had the highest average percent absorbency followed by pattern #3 (87%), and tied are pattern#4 and pattern#5 (85%).

[00055] Pattern #1 had the lowest average percent absorbency (80%)

[00056] Although Fibre-glass insulation was the most absorptive of the fibrous substances tested, we believe that oyster mushrooms (87.28%) , oat hulls( 86.7%), down feathers (83.9%) , saw dust( 79.5%), bone meal (75.6%) or cotton balls (82.7%), would pose less potential threat to the natural environment and would be less harmful to organisms in an aquatic water ecosystem.

[00057] Taking into account the earlier tests conducted, we took six of the highest absorbing fibrous materials and combined them. We decided to include fibre-glass insulation in the combination testing in Part B, even though it is not environmentally friendly. It proved to have the best percent absorbency in Part A, so we were curious of how well it would absorb in a combination setting. We decided that if the combination with fibre-glass insulation did not absorb significantly higher percentages of oil than the other combinations, we would have to use the next best, environmentally-friendly combination for our mats. Ironically, the best combination did not include fibre-glass insulation. In the results of the combination testing, [oats hulls+bone meal+down feathers] proved to be the most absorbent which was coincidentally favourable because this combination was one of the most environmentally friendly combination.

[00058] The mats that were made were made simply of the combination of [oat hulls+bone meal+down feathers] but the pattern which was stitched onto the mats differed. We chose 5 simple patterns and tested each pattern twice. We tested Part C twice because, in Part A and Part B, we could easily keep the variables the same (volume, area etc). The mats in Part C varied because the hand stitching that we did could not be replicated exactly for each mat. Therefore, testing the mats twice in Part C made the results more accurate.

[000591 PART D.

[00060] In the Room Temperature Test, the fibrous mat containing human hair and oyster mushrooms (henceforth identified as H.M.) had the highest average percentage of oil reclaimed in all 4 cycles(Cycle 1: 14.00%, Cycle 2: 16.83%, Cycle 3: 16.5%, Cycle 4: 14.5% ), while the B.O.D mat had the lowest average percentage of oil in all 4 cycles (Cycle 1 : 7.0%, Cycle 2: 13.5%, Cycle 3: 12.83%, Cycle 4: 10.0%). Similarly, the average oil absorbing capacity of the H.M. mats at room temperature was 2.45 mL per gram of H.M. (dry mass) while the average oil absorbing capacity of the B.O.D. mats at room temperature was 2.17 mL of oil per gram of B.O.D. (dry mass).

[00061] In the Cold Temperature Test, the B.O.D. mat had the highest average percentage of oil reclaimed in cycles 3 and 4 (Cycle 3: 19.08%, Cycle 4: 17.0%) but had a lower average percentage of oil reclaimed in cycles 1 and 2 (Cycle 1 : 6.41%, Cycle 2: 12.91% ). In comparison, the H.M mat had the lowest average percentage of oil reclaimed in cycles 3 and 4 (Cycle 3: 14.66%, Cycle 4: 13.66%) but had a higher average percentage of oil reclaimed in cycles 1 and 2 (Cycle 1: 10.83%, Cycle 2: 14.16%). However, in the cold temperature test, the average oil absorbing capacity of our B.O.D. mats wae higher at 5.96 mL of oil per gram of B.O.D. (dry mass) than, the average oil absorbing capacity of the H.M. mats at 4.37 mL per gram of H.M. (dry mass).

PART E

[00062] Tests were conducted to investigate the capacity for the mats to absorb oil, using protocols described above. Results are shown in figures 8, 9 and 10. Absorptive Capacity was found to be 7.88 ml/g of B.O.D. Mat in a 10 cycle Procedure using Cold Temperature water(3°). 7.65ml/g [00063] Further, absorptive Capacity was found to be 7.65ml/g of B.O.D. Mat in a 10 cycle Procedure using Room Temperature water(3°). At room temperature, the results indicated that the Absorptive Capacity, at Room Temperature, can be determined by the formula:

[00064] In another exemplified embodiment, as shown in figures 11 to 14, there is provided a process for recovery of oil and/or one or more oil constituents from a body of water. In this case, a sample of recovery units are provided, each being a size and configuration to allow the same as a whole to be deposited, broadcast, delivered to or located partially or fully "en masse" or in plural groups or plural packages on the body of water. Each recovery unit contains one or more oleophilic materials for collecting the oil and/or oil constituents therein. As can be seen in figure 11, seven such recovery units are shown at 10, above a body of water 12 with an oil spill shown schematically at 14. The recovery units in this case are shown in a relatively large format, but may be of a wide range of sizes to suit the application. They may be, for instance, the general size of a tea bag, a pita, a pie, a pizza, or a domrt. In this example, the recovery units are configured so that they may be delivered partially or fully "en masse" or in plural groups or plural packages on the body of water 12, and more partially on the oil spill 14, for example by batch dumping, broadcasting (as one would broadcast seed from a seeder, or gravel from a gravel thrower), or the like. The recovery units would then be free to float in the oil spill, and may be confined by the use of booms, shown partially at 16. The recovery units may be attached to one another by netting or the like to allow for easier collection, in the case where booms or other containing equipment may not be practical.

[00065] As sown in figure 13, the recovery units may then be collected and then, as shown in figure 14, deposited to a centrifuge or to some other location or device removing a portion of the oil and/or oil constituents therefrom, for later disposal or processing by way of a truck or the like. After the removal of a portion of the oil and/or oil constituents therefrom, the recovery units may be relocated en masse or in groups as described above on the body of water to repeat the process.

[00066] Those of skill in the art will recognize while certain modifications, permutations, additions and sub-combinations thereof of parts noted herein are described for what are presently considered the exemplary embodiments, the invention is not so limited. To the contrary, the invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest Interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.