Apparatus and method for containing and recovering from oil spills

Abstract

A novel holder/dispenser for film-form polyethylene sorbent is a serially linked chain of holders to deploy sorbent material having a high affinity for oil for rapid early containment of an expanding oil spill on open water. Following containment and cleanup of the spill, the extended sorbent film is readily reeled in for incineration or for recovery and reuse of oil therefrom.

1 . A rigid, buoyant holder/dispenser for a roll of film-form polyethylene substrate, comprising:
 a supply of film-form polyethylene substrate in the form of a roll attached to and wrapped around a hard, buoyant plastic core;   a rigid, buoyant housing having a top wall, and a front and a rear wall integral with and extending downwardly and parallel from said top wall; means for securing the sorbent roll against an inside face of the rear wall to prevent longitudinal motion of the roll relative to the long axis of the holder,   said front wall of the holder including a central aperture through which sorbent film may be pulled tangentially from the roll and out of the holder in an axial direction, thereby forming an elongate rope of helically twisted film substrate; and   attachment means extending rearwardly from the housing for connection to the front end of a helically twisted film of sorbent extending from the front wall of a second holder/dispenser.   
     
     
         2 . A holder/dispenser according to  claim 1 , wherein said means for preventing longitudinal and rotational motion of the roll of substrate comprises a rigid roll cord tube externally threaded at its rear most end;
 a central aperture through the rear wall of the holder-dispenser to receive at least part of the threaded portion of the roll cord tube;   an internally threaded cap to receive said threading on the roll cord tube so that the tube may be secured in place by twisting the tube end tightly against said cap; and   a flange or washer screwed tightly against the front end of the rigid roll cord tube.   
     
     
         3 . A holder/dispenser according to  claim 1 , wherein said means for preventing longitudinal and rotational motion of the roll of substrate comprises:
 a spindle with cruciform cross-sectional shape having at the front end thereof an integral circular retaining piece to bear against the core of a substrate roll installed on the spindle; and,   where said attachment means is in step-wise selective locking engagement with the rear end of the spindle and is operable on tightening to pull the spindle and the roll of sorbent carried thereon into stabilizing abutment against the rear wall of the holder.   
     
     
         4 . A system for deploying sorbent materials to surround and contain oil spills on open water, comprising a plurality of holders/dispensers according to  claim 1  serially connected by tying the first portion of film drawn through the front aperture of one holder/container according to  claim 1  to the attachment member extending from the rear wall of a like frontwardly adjacent holder/dispenser. 
     
     
         5 . Use of a system according to  claim 3  to contain an oil spill, by providing a vessel equipped with a system of dispensers to lay down a ribbon film-sorbent circumscribing the oil spill or leak.