Systems for automated capture and recovery of oil from oil-contaminated water and solids

Abstract

Systems for automated capture and recovery of oil from oil-contaminated water and solids are disclosed. In some embodiments, the systems include the following: a plurality of automated robotic oil recovery units; a plurality of deployable oil collection membranes positioned within each of the units, each of the membranes including an upper half including a material impermeable to both water and crude oil and a lower half including a semi-permeable hydrophilic membrane that is permeable to water but impermeable to crude oil; and a high pressure carbon dioxide oil solids separation unit for separating oil from oil-contaminated solids thereby producing substantially oil-free solids and an oil and carbon dioxide mixture; a solids separation unit for the separating substantially oil-free solids from the oil and carbon dioxide mixture via gravity separation; and an oil separation unit for separating oil from the oil and carbon dioxide mixture using a pressure swing.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for cleaning oil spills, comprising:
 a plurality of automated robotic oil recovery units, each of said units including deployable membranes for collecting oil and each of said units configured for deployment from a ship and for automated capture and recovery of oil from oil-contaminated water and solids; and   a solids cleaning module for separating and recovering oil from oil-contaminated solids.   
     
     
         2 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein each of said deployable membranes comprise:
 an upper half including a material impermeable to both water and crude oil; and   a lower half including a semi-permeable hydrophilic membrane that is permeable to water but impermeable to crude oil.   
     
     
         3 . The system according to  claim 1 , wherein each of said plurality of automated robotic oil recovery units comprise:
 an outer shell including a shock-absorbing lining for protecting inner components of said system from forces generated by impact on water when deploying said system from a ship and from corrosion from seawater;   a plurality of channels formed on an inner surface of said outer shell, said channels configured to allow oily water to flow through said system and keep said membranes open when stored in said shell;   
     
     
         4 . The system according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a plurality of inflatable membrane supports for keeping said membranes floating on the surfaces of the water and visible to collection vessels;   a plurality of deployable inflatable body supports; and   air tanks for inflating said inflatable body supports and said inflatable membrane supports.   
     
     
         5 . The system according to  claim 3 , further comprising:
 a power unit including a motor, a battery, a propeller unit, and a gas tank; and   a substantially waterproof storage compartment formed within said shell that includes said power unit.   
     
     
         6 . The system according to  claim 5 , further comprising solar panels for charging said batteries. 
     
     
         7 . The system according to  claim 1 , further comprising a membrane deployment track for deploying said membranes one by one and holding one end of a membrane in place while collecting oil. 
     
     
         8 . The system according to  claim 5 , further comprising a protective mesh for preventing seaweed and other debris from entering said system and damaging said propeller unit. 
     
     
         9 . The system according to  claim 1 , further comprising a GPS control unit for coordinating positions of each of said plurality of automated robotic oil recovery units of said system around an oil spill and identifying its position when it needs to be recovered. 
     
     
         10 . The system according to  claim 1 , said solids cleaning module further comprising:
 a high pressure carbon dioxide oil solids separation unit for separating oil from oil-contaminated solids thereby producing substantially oil-free solids and an oil and carbon dioxide mixture;   a solids separation unit for said separating substantially oil-free solids from said oil and carbon dioxide mixture via gravity separation; and   an oil separation unit for separating oil from said oil and carbon dioxide mixture using a pressure swing.   
     
     
         11 . The system according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a plurality of booms configured to connect to said plurality of automated robotic oil recovery units thereby allowing said units to form a ring of booms for containing an oil spill.   
     
     
         12 . A system for automated capture and recovery of oil from oil-contaminated water and solids, comprising:
 a plurality of automated robotic oil recovery units;   a plurality of deployable oil collection membranes positioned within each of said units, each of said membranes including an upper half including a material impermeable to both water and crude oil and a lower half including a semi-permeable hydrophilic membrane that is permeable to water but impermeable to crude oil; and   a solids cleaning module for separating and recovering oil from oil-contaminated solids.   
     
     
         13 . The system according to  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a plurality of inflatable membrane supports for keeping said membranes floating on the surfaces of the water and visible to collection vessels.   
     
     
         14 . The system according to  claim 12 , further comprising a GPS control unit for coordinating positions of each of said plurality of automated robotic oil recovery units of said system around an oil spill and identifying its position when it needs to be recovered. 
     
     
         15 . The system according to  claim 12 , said solids cleaning module further comprising:
 a high pressure carbon dioxide oil solids separation unit for separating oil from oil-contaminated solids thereby producing substantially oil-free solids and an oil and carbon dioxide mixture;   a solids separation unit for said separating substantially oil-free solids from said oil and carbon dioxide mixture via gravity separation; and   an oil separation unit for separating oil from said oil and carbon dioxide mixture using a pressure swing.   
     
     
         16 . The system according to  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a plurality of booms configured to connect to said plurality of automated robotic oil recovery units thereby allowing said units to form a ring of booms for containing an oil spill.   
     
     
         17 . A system for automated capture and recovery of oil from oil-contaminated water and solids, comprising:
 a plurality of automated robotic oil recovery units;   a plurality of deployable oil collection membranes positioned within each of said units, each of said membranes including an upper half including a material impermeable to both water and crude oil and a lower half including a semi-permeable hydrophilic membrane that is permeable to water but impermeable to crude oil; and   a high pressure carbon dioxide oil solids separation unit for separating oil from oil-contaminated solids thereby producing substantially oil-free solids and an oil and carbon dioxide mixture;   a solids separation unit for said separating substantially oil-free solids from said oil and carbon dioxide mixture via gravity separation; and   an oil separation unit for separating oil from said oil and carbon dioxide mixture using a pressure swing.   
     
     
         18 . The system according to  claim 17 , further comprising:
 a plurality of inflatable membrane supports for keeping said membranes floating on the surfaces of the water and visible to collection vessels.   
     
     
         19 . The system according to  claim 17 , further comprising a GPS control unit for coordinating positions of each of said plurality of automated robotic oil recovery units of said system around an oil spill and identifying its position when it needs to be recovered. 
     
     
         20 . The system according to  claim 17 , further comprising:
 a plurality of booms configured to connect to said plurality of automated robotic oil recovery units thereby allowing said units to form a ring of booms for containing an oil spill.