Method And Apparatus For Removing Liquid Contaminants From A Submerged Tank

Abstract

A method and apparatus for forming holes in the wall of a submerged tank and removing liquid material therefrom. First and second holes are first formed in the wall of the tank wherein the first hole is positioned higher than the second hole. The holes are formed in such a manner as to prevent the liquid material from escaping the tank and contaminating a liquid body surrounding the tank. The liquid material is pumped out from one of the holes while the liquid surrounding the submerged tank enters the other of the holes. The holes are formed by using an air drill which is mounted on a spring-loaded frame within a cone-shaped housing, wherein the base of the cone-shaped housing is fastened to a side of the tank. The drill is positioned along the center line of the cone while the hole is being formed and the spring-loaded frame carries the drill away from the center line of the cone after the hole is formed, if access to the formed hole is desired.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing a hole in a submerged tank and more particularly to a method and apparatus for removing liquid contaminants from the submerged tank, while preventing the liquid contaminants from escaping into a surrounding liquid body.

2. Description of the Prior Art

At the present time there are a great many sunken vessels located in bodies of water throughout the world. Many of these vessels have tanks containing fuel oil, kerosene, or something similar thereto. Some of these vessels may be tankers, freighters, or even passenger ships. Other vessels may contain herbicides.

While the value loss of much of the liquid material contained within the tanks of submerged vessels is considerable and its recovery would be desirable, there are even more important reasons to quickly recover these liquid contaminants. For example, if any of the sunken vessels located along the Continental Shelf of the United States, containing oils or herbicides or other dangerous contaminants, were to corrode to the point that these liquid contaminants would escape from a tank in any or a few of these vessels, the resultant damage would be incalculable. The beaches along the Gold Coast of Miami would become so contaminated by an oil spill that they would not be usable for a long time, even if serious efforts were made to emulsify the oil or scrape it off the beaches. The cost of cleaning up the beaches would be very high and the cost of the loss of tourist trade would be even higher.

In another example, if 50 to 100 tons of herbicides were to be released by a ship sunk on the Continental Shelf of the United States, it has been estimated that all the fish along the Eastern Seaboard would be killed, while the damaging effect of the herbicides being drawn up into the clouds and coming down in rain on crops, would be incalculable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Purpose of the Invention

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for recovering liquid contaminants contained within a tank of a sunken vessel.

It is another object of this invention to provide for a method and apparatus for recovering liquid contaminants from a tank of a sunken vessel, while preventing the liquid contaminants from escaping into the surrounding body of water.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an apparatus for producing holes in a side of a submerged tank, while preventing liquid contaminants within the tank from escaping therefrom and into the surrounding liquid body.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and in part be pointed out hereinafter.

Brief Description of the Invention

According to a broad aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of removing liquid material from a submerged tank comprising the steps of forming a first and second hole in the submerged tank, while preventing the escape of the liquid material from the tank, said first hole being positioned higher than said second hole, and pumping the liquid material out from one of said first and second holes, while liquid surrounding the submerged tank enters the other of said holes.

A feature of the invention provides that the liquid material is less dense than the surrounding liquid and the liquid material is pumped out of said first hole while the surrounding liquid enters said second hole.

Another feature of the invention provides that the liquid material is more dense than the surrounding liquid and the liquid material is pumped out of said second hole while the surrounding liquid enters said first hole.

Still another feature of the invention provides that the liquid material in the submerged tank is originally in solid form, an emulsifying agent being introduced through said other hole to liquify the solid material and form the liquid material prior to pumping the liquid material out of said hole.

A further feature of the invention provides that after the step of pumping of the liquid material out of said one hole, a cleansing agent is introduced into said sunken tank through said other hole, and said cleansing agent is pumped out of said one hole to remove all traces of the liquid material to prevent contamination of the surrounding liquid.

A still further feature of the invention provides that after the step of introducing a cleansing agent into said sunken tank, a foam plastic is introduced through said other hole and into said submerged tank until the foam plastic fills the submerged tank so as to provide sufficient buoyancy for the submerged tank to raise the tank to the surface of the surrounding liquid.

Still a further feature of the invention provides that the liquid material is pumped out of the submerged tank and into a container located at the surface of the surrounding liquid.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for producing a hole in a submerged tank comprising a hole forming means, means for housing said hole forming means and for isolating said hole forming means from a liquid body surrounding said submerged tank, and means for fixing and sealing said housing to a side of said tank to prevent liquid material within said tank from escaping into the surrounding liquid body.

A feature of the other aspect of the invention provides that said hole forming means includes an air activated drill having a fly cutter attached thereto, means for positioning the fly cutter against the side of said tank, means for rotating said drill and fly cutter until the hole in said tank is formed, and means for retracting the drill and fly cutter from the position adjacent said tank after the hole is formed.

Another feature of the other aspect of the invention provides that said housing means includes a cone-shaped member having the base end thereof attached to said sealing and fixing means, a gate valve attached to the other end of said cone-shaped member for allowing material to pass through, support means attached to the interior of said cone-shaped member, a spring loaded frame slidably mounted to said support means for carrying said hole forming means, and means for holding said frame in a first position prior to and during the forming of the hole in the side of said tank, and for releasing said frame after the forming of the hole so as to locate said frame in a second position, which second position allows for unobstructed entry into the formed hole.

Still another feature of the other aspect of the invention provides that said holding and releasing means includes an arm-locking member pivotally mounted to a side of said cone, one end of said arm-locking member having a flanged portion for engaging and holding said frame in the first position, the other end of said arm-locking member extending beyond the wall of said cone and movable in a downward direction to release said frame and allow it to move to the second position, and a flexible member covering the other end of said arm locking member and attached to the wall of said cone for isolating the other end of said arm locking member from the surrounding liquid body.

A further feature of the other aspect of the invention provides that said fixing and sealing means includes a clamping ring attached to the side of said tank, a sealing ring positioned within said clamping ring and attached to said housing means, and means coupled to said clamping ring for forcing said sealing ring against the side of said tank.

A still further feature of the other aspect of the invention provides that said forcing means includes a plurality of toggle clamps attached to said clamping ring.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for removing liquid material from a submerged tank comprising means for producing a first and second hole in said tank while preventing liquid material within said tank from escaping therefrom during and after the formation of said holes, said first hole being vertically positioned above said second hole, and means for pumping the liquid material out from one of said first and second holes to the surface of a body of liquid surrounding said tank while the surrounding liquid enters said tank through the other of said holes.

According to a still further aspect of the invention there is provided an apparatus for forming a hole in a body comprising a cone-shaped housing having the base end thereof fastened to a side of the body, support means attached to the interior of said housing, a spring loaded frame slidably mounted to said support means, a drill mounted on said frame, and means for holding said spring-loaded frame and said drill in a position along the center line of said cone while the whole is being formed, and for releasing said spring loaded frame after the hole is formed so that said frame moves away from the center line of said cone so as to provide access to the formed hole.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawings in which are shown various possible embodiments of my invention:

FIG. 1 shows liquid material being pumped from a submerged vessel to holding tanks on the surface of a body of water;

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of a clamping ring which is welded to the side of the submerged vessel and surrounds a hole to be formed therein;

FIG. 3 shows a cutaway view of the apparatus used to produce each hole in the submerged vessel;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the means for holding and releasing a spring loaded frame shown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view of a backfill tube or lance which will pass through the gate valve shown in FIG. 3 and the formed hole and into the submerged tank for allowing the surrounding liquid to fill the submerged tank while the liquid material within the submerged tank is being pumped out through the other hole.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A method of removing liquid contaminants from a submerged tank is generally illustrated in FIG. 1.

A sunken vessel 10 is shown resting on the inclined floor 12 of liquid body 14. Liquid body 14 could be a body of sea, lake, river or ocean water. In this example, vessel 10 can contain a submerged tank 16 which is filled with a liquid material. Although the liquid material can be something other than fuel oil, such as herbicides, etc., we will limit our discussion in this example to the liquid material being fuel oil and the liquid body being water which is of course denser than the fuel oil.

In this example, two holes are formed within a wall of submerged tank 16. Cones 18 and 20 show the location of the respective holes in the wall of tank 16. Hole 21 formed in side 22 of tank 16 at the base of cone 18 is positioned vertically higher than hole 23 formed in side 22 of tank 16 at the base of cone 20. The apparatus and technique for forming the above referred to holes will be described later on. A hose 24 has one end thereof connected to cone 18 and the other end thereof connected to a pump 26 located on a surface vessel 28. A backfill tube 30 extends through cone 20 and lower hole 23 and into submerged tank 16. The backfill tube allows surrounding liquid from liquid body 14 to enter submerged tank 17, but prevents the liquid material within submerged tank 16 from escaping into liquid body 14. Thus as pump 26 pumps the liquid material within submerged tank 16 to surface vessel 28 and into holding tanks 32, water from liquid body 14 enters through backfill tube 30 into submerged tank 16.

It should be noted that the liquid material within tank 16 cannot be allowed to escape into and contaminate liquid body 14. Thus cone 18 (entry cone) and cone 20 (backfill cone) are so attached to side 22 of tank 16 as to prevent the escape of any liquid material from within tank 16. Similarly, hose 24 and backfill tube 30 respectively engage cones 18 and 20 in such a manner as also to not allow the escape of liquid material from within tank 16.

In this example the liquid material which in this instance is fuel oil, is pumped through upper hole 21, while water from liquid body 14 is allowed to fill tank 16 through lower hole 23. Because water is more dense than fuel oil, the less dense fuel oil will tend to rise in the tank as the water fills the tank, and that is why, to achieve the greatest efficiency in removal of the liquid material, the fuel oil should be removed through higher hole 21. If on the other hand, the liquid material to be removed from submerged tank 16 were denser than the surrounding liquid body 14, then hose 24 would be connected to cone 20, and backfill tube 30 would be connected to cone 18, so that the denser liquid material would be pumped out of lower hole 23, while liquid from the less dense liquid body 14 would seep into tank 16 via hole 21.

After the liquid material has been pumped out of tank 16 through the higher hole 21, a cleansing or emulsifying agent can be pumped through backfill tube 30 and lower hole 23 into tank 16 and then back out of higher hole 21 to surface vessel 28 so as to remove all traces of the liquid material from the interior of tank 16. The cleansing or emulsifying agents are pumped from vessel 28 through backfill tube 30 via a suitable hosing and pumping arrangement.

The apparatus for removing the liquid material from the sunken tank can be removed from the sunken vessel after all the liquid material has been removed and the interior of the sunken tank has been cleaned. Alternatively, a plastic foam can be pumped from surface vessel 28 through a suitable hosing and pumping apparatus and then through backfill tube 30 and into tank 16 until the buoyancy of submerged vessel 10 is increased to the point that submerged vessel 10 can be raised to the surface of the liquid body 14.

If the liquid material within tank 16 were originally in solid form, it would have to first be converted to the liquid material before it could be removed from the submerged tank. Under these circumstances, a suitable liquifying or emulsifying agent would have to be introduced through backfill tube 30 and lower hole 23 and into tank 16 so as to liquify the solid matter prior to the pumping of the liquid material out of tank 16.

The apparatus for producing the upper and lower holes in the side of the submerged tank is more clearly shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. This apparatus includes hole forming means. The hole forming means further includes a drill 34 having a fly cutter 36 attached to one end thereof, and in this example the fly cutter has a 2 in. radius so as to actually cut a 4 in. diameter hole. Means for positioning fly cutter 36 against side 22 of the tank, and for retracting fly cutter 36 from the position against the tank after the hole is formed, is provided by hydraulic ram 38 which is actuated by a pump lever 40. When pump lever 40 is in a first position, ram 38 would move drill 34 and fly cutter 36 so that fly cutter 36 would bear against side 22 of the tank, and when lever 40 is placed in a second position, ram 38 would retract drill 34 and fly cutter 36 to its original position.

Means for rotating drill 34 and fly cutter 36 until the hole in the tank is formed is provided pneumatic motor 41 and air hoses 42 and 44. Compressed air is fed through hose 42 and exits through hose 44 so that pneumatic motor 41 is provided with sufficient force to drive drill 34 and fly cutter 36. Pneumatic motor 41 can begin to rotate drill 34 and fly cutter 36 before ram 38 forces fly cutter 36 against the side of the tank.

Means for housing the above described hole forming means, and for isolating the hole forming means from the liquid body surrounding the submerged tank, is provided by a hollow cone shaped member 46. The peaked end 47 of cone shaped member 46 contains a gate valve 48 and a sealing coupling 49. In this example gate valve 48 can have a diameter of 4 in. when opened so as to be congruent with the hole being cut in side 22 of the tank. Gate valve 48 can contain a slidable plate which is moved by lever 50 so as to open and close the valve. Sealing coupling 49 is dimensioned in shape to either sealingly engage hose 24 (shown in FIG. 1) or backfill tube 30 (shown in FIG. 5). The interior of cone 46 contains support means or rails 54 which are positioned near and parallel to the base of cone 46. A spring loaded frame 56 is slidably mounted on rails 54 and is the carriage for the hole forming means. The loading of compression spring 58 is such that frame 56 will be positioned close to end 60 of rails 54.

During the drilling operation, since it is desirable to have the drilled hole aligned with the opening in gate valve 48, means are provided for holding frame 56 in a position along the center line of cone 46 prior to and during the actual cutting of the hole in the side 22 of tank 16, and for releasing frame 56 after the forming of the hole so that frame 56 again slides towards the end 60 of rails 54 so as to provide for unobstructed entry into the drilled hole. This holding and releasing means contains an arm-locking member 62 which has a flanged end 64, wherein flanged end 64 engages catch 66, which catch is attached to frame 56 when frame 56 is to be held in position along the center line of cone 46. As shown in FIG. 4, arm-locking member 62 is pivotally attached at 68 to a bracket 70 which bracket is fastened to the interior wall of cone 46. Arm-locking member 62 is so bent that its opposite end 72 extends through an opening 74 in the wall of cone 46. Opening 74 and end 72 of arm locking member 62 are covered with a flexible sealing material 75 so as to properly seal opening 74 and end 72 from the surrounding liquid body 14. The sealing material is fastened by bolts 76 and 78 to cone 46. Normally arm-locking member 62 is initially positioned to hold frame 56 along the center line of the cone prior to and during the formation of the hole in the side of the tank. After the hole has been formed, end 72 of arm locking member 62 can be pushed down either by a scuba diver or an automatically activated air pressure mechanism from the surface vessel. As end 72 of arm locking member 62 is pushed down, end 64 moves up so as to release catch 66, thereby allowing frame 56 to slide toward end 60 of rails 54.

Means for fixing and sealing the cone housing to the side of the tank to prevent the liquid material within the tank from escaping into the surrounding liquid body is provided by a clamping ring 80 (shown in FIG. 2) and a sealing ring 82 (shown in FIG. 3). Clamping ring 80 is fixed to the side 22 of tank 16 by either spot or continuous welding, as shown at points 84 and 86 in FIG. 3. It is preferred, however, that welds 84 and 86 be spot rather than continuous, since it would be easier to detach ring 80 from the side 22 of the tank if ring 80 were only spot welded thereto. Ring 80 has toggle clamps 88 (shown in FIGS. 2 and 3) attached to inner ring portion 90 of clamping ring 80. Toggle clamps 88 are so arranged as to force flange 92, at the base of cone 46, against sealing ring 82 so as to fix cone 46 to side 22 of tank 16 while also sealing the interior of cone 46 from the surrounding liquid body 14.

It should be noted that clamping ring 80 can be made of a suitable material such as steel, while cone 46 can be made of reinforced fiberglass. Sealing ring 80 and flexible sealing material 75 can be made of neoprene. It should also be noted that both upper hole 21 and lower hole 23 described with reference to FIG. 1 must each contain a separate set of the apparatus described in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, wherein entry cone 18 has hose 24 attached to its coupling sealing 49, while backfill tube or lance 30 (shown in FIG. 5) extends through the open gate valve 48 of backfill cone 20 and the congruent drilled hole 23. Backfill tube contains a one-way check valve 94 (shown in FIG. 5) which will allow material or liquid to flow into but not out of tank 16.

It should be also noted that while the above hole forming means was described with reference to an air operated drill, other hole forming means such as an electrically or air activated punching ram or piercing member could be used to either punch or pierce the holes in the tank.

It should be further noted that the gate valve of both the entry and backfill cones is closed while the respective holes are being formed in side 22 of tank 16, and hose 24 is placed within the sealing coupling of entry cone 18 while backfill tube 30 is placed within the sealing coupling of backfill cone 20 before the respective gate valves are opened.

It thus is seen that there is provided a method and apparatus for removing liquid contaminants from a submerged tank which achieve the several objects of the invention and are well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiments above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein described, or shown in the accompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Claims

Having thus described the invention, there is claimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent:

1. Apparatus for producing a hole in a submerged tank comprising:

a hole-forming means;

means for housing said hole-forming means and for isolating said hole-forming means from a liquid body surrounding said submerged tank;

means for fixing and sealing said housing to a side of said tank to prevent liquid material within said tank from escaping into the surrounding liquid body;

means providing an opening in said housing for connection to a surface vessel; and

valve means secured to said housing in a position to open and close said opening, said valve means having operating means externally of the housing.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said hole-forming means includes:

an air-activated drill having a fly cutter attached thereto;

means for positioning the fly cutter against the side of said tank;

means for rotating said drill and fly cutter until the hole in said tank is formed; and

means for retracting the drill and fly cutter from the position against said tank after the hole is formed.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein:

the housing is a cone-shaped member having the base end thereof attached to said sealing and fixing means;

the valve means is a gate valve attached to the other end of said cone-shaped member for allowing material to pass through;

a support means is attached to the interior of said cone-shaped member;

a spring-loaded frame, slideably mounted to said support means is provided for carrying said hole-forming means; and

means is included for holding said frame in a first position prior to and during the forming of the hole in the side of said tank, and for releasing said frame after the forming of the hole so as to locate said frame in a second position, which second position allows for unobstructed entry into the formed hole.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said holding and releasing means includes:

an arm-locking member pivotally mounted to a side of said cone, one end of said arm-locking member having a flanged portion for engaging and holding said frame in the first position, the other end of said arm-locking member extending beyond the wall of said cone and movable in a downward direction to release said frame and allow it to move to the second position; and

a flexible member covering the other end of said arm-locking member and attached to the wall of said cone for isolating the other end of said arm-locking member from the surrounding liquid body.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said fixing and sealing means includes:

a clamping ring welded to the side of said tank;

a sealing ring positioned within said clamping ring and attached to said housing means; and

means coupled to said clamping ring for mechanically forcing said sealing ring against the side of said tank.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said forcing means includes a plurality of toggle clamps attached to said clamping ring.

7. Apparatus for removing liquid material from a submerged tank comprising:

means for producing a first hole and a second hole in said tank while preventing liquid material within said tank from escaping therefrom during and after the formation of said holes, said first hole being positioned higher than said second hole; and

means for pumping the liquid material out from one of said first and second holes to the surface of a body of liquid surrounding said tank while the surrounding liquid enters said tank through the other of said holes.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein means for producing each of the holes in said submerged tank is comprised of:

hole-forming means;

means for housing said hole-forming means and for isolating said hole-forming means from the body of liquid surrounding said submerged tank;

means for fixing and sealing said housing to a side of said tank to prevent the liquid material within said tank from escaping into the surrounding liquid body;

means providing and opening in said housing for connection to a surface vessel; and

valve means secured to said housing in a position to open and close said opening, said valve means having operating means externally of the housing.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said pumping means includes a pump and a hose, one end of said hose attached to said pump and the other end of said hose attached to said housing means surrounding one of said holes.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 further comprising a backfill tube extending through the housing surrounding the other of said holes and extending into the other of said holes, said backfill tube allowing material to pass into said tank while preventing material from exiting said tank.

11. Apparatus for forming a hole in a body comprising:

a cone-shaped housing having the base end thereof fastened to a side of the body;

support means attached to the interior of said housing;

a spring-loaded frame slideably mounted to said support means;

a drill mounted on said frame;

means for holding said spring-loaded frame and said drill in a position along the center line of said cone while the hole is being formed, and for releasing said spring-loaded frame after the hole is formed so that said frame moves away from the center line of said cone so as to provide access to the formed hole;

means providing an opening at the other end of said cone-shaped member for allowing material to pass through; and

valve means secured to said housing in a position to open and close said opening, said valve means having operating means externally of the housing.

12. Apparatus according to claim 11 further comprising:

the valve means is a gate valve located toward and adjacent the other end of said cone; and

a lance extending through said gate valve into said cone and through said formed hole.