Hydrophilic material oil fence having double-porous mesh

Abstract

Disclosed is a hydrophilic material oil fence having a double-porous mesh. The hydrophilic material oil fence having the double-porous mesh includes a floating body floating on a water surface, and a skirt coupled to an upper portion and a lower portion of the floating body and made of a hydrophilic material through which a hydrophilic fluid selectively passes. A mesh hole size of a partial region of the skirt and a mesh hole size of the other region of the skirt are different.

Claims

1. A hydrophilic material oil fence having a double-porous mesh, comprising: a floating body floating on a water surface; and a skirt coupled to a lower portion of the floating body and made of a hydrophilic material through which a hydrophilic fluid selectively passes, wherein a mesh hole size of a first partial region (A1) of the skirt and a mesh hole size of a second partial region (A2) of the skirt are different, wherein in the skirt, the first partial region (A1) is formed at an upper side, and the second partial region (A2) is formed at a lower side of the first partial region (A1), wherein the mesh hole size of the first partial region (A1) is smaller than the mesh hole size of the second partial region (A2), wherein the mesh hole size of the first partial region (A1) is 10 m or more and 30 m or less, wherein the mesh hole size of the second partial region (A2) is 100 m or more and 500 m or less, and wherein pressure of the skirt is less than 2 kPa when flow velocity is 1 knot.

2. The hydrophilic material oil fence having a double-porous mesh according to claim 1, wherein the floating body is formed to have a cylindrical shape or a polygonal pillar shape.

3. The hydrophilic material oil fence having a double-porous mesh according to claim 1, wherein the floating body has an air pocket provided at an inner portion or an outer portion thereof and made of a material having rubber or vinyl to increase buoyance.

4. The hydrophilic material oil fence having a double-porous mesh according to claim 1, wherein when the water surface and an area with a water depth less than 1 m have different flow velocities, the first partial region (A1) of the skirt is divided into two or more regions.

5. The hydrophilic material oil fence having a double-porous mesh according to claim 1, wherein a weight member is coupled and fixed to a lower end of the skirt.

6. The hydrophilic material oil fence having a double-porous mesh according to claim 5, wherein the weight member is fixed in a coupling hole fixed at the lower end of the skirt.

7. The hydrophilic material oil fence having a double-porous mesh according to claim 5, wherein the weight member is connected to the lower end of the skirt by a fixing member including a rope or a hook.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C are diagrams showing a conventional oil fence, which blocks both water and oil.

(2) FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hydrophilic material oil fence having a double-porous mesh according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

(3) FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams for comparing pressures according to mesh hole sizes of a general oil fence, an oil fence having a single-pore mesh and the oil fence having a double-porous mesh.

(4) FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an experiment result table of the oil fence having a single-pore mesh and the oil fence having a double-porous mesh according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

(5) FIGS. FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing an experiment result table of the oil fence having a single-pore mesh in FIG. 5.

(6) FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams showing an experiment result table of the oil fence having a double-porous mesh according to an embodiment of the present disclosure in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(7) Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. In adding reference signs to components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same reference signs are assigned to the same components as much as possible even though they are shown in different drawings. Also, in describing the present disclosure, if it is determined that a detailed description of the related known structure or function may obscure the gist of the present disclosure, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(8) In addition, in describing the components of the present disclosure, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a) and (b) may be used. These terms are only for distinguishing the corresponding component from another component, and the nature, order or sequence of the components are not limited by the terms. If a component is described as being connected, coupled or contacted to another component, that component may be directly connected or contacted to another component, but it should also be understood that any other element(s) may be further connected, coupled or contacted between these component.

(9) FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C are diagrams showing a conventional oil fence, which blocks both water and oil.

(10) FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hydrophilic material oil fence having a double-porous mesh according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

(11) FIGS. 3 and 4 are diagrams for comparing pressures according to mesh hole sizes of a general oil fence, an oil fence having a single-pore mesh and the oil fence having a double-porous mesh.

(12) FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an experiment result table of the oil fence having a single-pore mesh and the oil fence having a double-porous mesh according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

(13) FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing an experiment result table of the oil fence having a single-pore mesh in FIG. 5.

(14) FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams showing an experiment result table of the oil fence having a double-porous mesh according to an embodiment of the present disclosure in FIG. 5.

(15) As shown in these figures, a hydrophilic material oil fence 200 with a double-porous mesh according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a floating body 201 floating on a water surface; and a skirt 203 coupled to a lower portion of the floating body 201 and made of a hydrophilic material through which a hydrophilic fluid selectively passes, wherein a mesh hole size of a partial region A1 of the skirt and a mesh hole size of the other region A2 of the skirt are different.

(16) In the figures, mesh pores are exaggerated to clearly show different mesh hole sizes.

(17) Meanwhile, in the case of the conventional oil fence 10 that block both water and oil, as shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C, when a strong tidal current occurs or when a ship is towing the oil fence 10 while driving at high speed for oil recovery, the oil fence 10 is damaged and loses balance due to a strong water pressure(arrows shown in the FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C) applied to the oil fence 10, and thus the oil F leaks out of the oil fence 10. However, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the above problem is solved.

(18) Hereinafter, each component is explained in full detail.

(19) The floating body 201 is formed to float on the water surface. For example, the floating body 201 may be formed to have a cylinder shape, a polygonal pillar shape, or the like, and its length may also vary.

(20) Of course, in order to improve the buoyancy of the floating body 201, for example, an air pocket made of rubber or vinyl may be installed to an inner side or an outer side of the floating body 201.

(21) Subsequently, the skirt 203 is coupled to the upper portion or the lower portion of the floating body 201.

(22) The skirt 203 is made of a hydrophilic material through which a hydrophilic fluid selectively passes.

(23) Here, the hydrophilic material may selectively use a mesh having different hole sizes.

(24) Of course, the skirt 203 may be formed by coupling a hydrophilic separator made of a hydrophilic material to a surface thereof.

(25) Meanwhile, in the skirt 203, the mesh hole size of the partial region A1 and the mesh hole size of the other region A2 are different.

(26) More specifically, the partial region A1 of the skirt 203 is formed at an upper side, and the other region A2 is formed at a lower side of the partial region A2.

(27) More specifically, the mesh hole size of the partial region A1 of the skirt 203 is smaller than the mesh hole size of the other region A2.

(28) For example, the partial region A1 of the skirt 203 may be formed to have a mesh pore size 10 m or more and 200 m or less, and the other region A2 may be formed to have a mesh pore size 50 m or more and 500 m or less so that oil is suppressed not to pass and water passes therethrough more quickly than the partial region A1.

(29) As a result, the hydrophilic material oil fence 200 having a double-porous mesh according to an embodiment of the present disclosure allows water to pass easier while suppressing oil not to pass.

(30) Meanwhile, if a site where the oil fence 200 is to be installed has a small depth or the flow velocity in an area with a water depth less than 1 m is different from the flow velocity of the water surface, the partial region A1 of the skirt 203 may be divided into two or more regions.

(31) In addition, the skirt 203 may be, for example, formed to have a length of 20 cm or more and 150 cm or less.

(32) Moreover, although not shown in the figures, a weight member may be coupled and fixed to a lower end of the skirt 203. The weight member may be fixed to a coupling hole formed at the lower end of the skirt 203 or be connected and fixed to the lower end of the skirt 203 by a fixing member such as a rope or a hook.

(33) Meanwhile, in the case of a general oil fence having a skirt through which both water and oil cannot pass, a pressure of about 800 kPa is applied to the skirt by a flow velocity of 1 knot. However, in the hydrophilic material oil fence having a double-porous mesh according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it can be found that the pressure applied to the skirt is sharp decreased to about 3 kPa, even to about 1 kPa, when the skirt has a general thickness of 50 m to 100 m.

(34) As described above, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the entire skirt allows water to pass therethrough, but the hydrophilic oil-separating material having dense mesh pores is disposed at the upper portion of the skirt that is primarily in contact with oil, thereby preventing the oil from leaking. In addition, since the hydrophilic oil-separating material with a large mesh hole size is disposed at the lower portion of the skirt, it is possible to prevent the unnecessary increase of resisting force, compared to the conventional technique using a single-porous mesh. Thus, it is possible to rapidly and surely capture oil or hazardous and noxious substances in water stably even in areas with strong tidal currents or high wave heights having a high flow velocity.

(35) In addition, even when a strong water pressure is applied to the oil fence (skirt) since oil is recovered in areas where a strong tidal current with a flow velocity over 3 knots flows or since a ship is moving at high speed to tow the oil fence for recovering oil, the pressure applied to the skirt is reduced due to the effective passage of water, thereby preventing the oil from spilling due to breakage or balance loss of the oil fence.

(36) In addition, by reducing the tension applied to the skirt due to the water pressure, it is possible to form the skirt in a long length.

(37) Here, the description of the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to the above embodiments, even though all of the components constituting the embodiment of the present disclosure are described as being combined into a single unit or operating in combination. In other words, within the scope of the present disclosure, all of the components may be selectively combined and operated.

(38) In addition, the terms comprise, include or have used above mean that the corresponding component is capable of including elements unless otherwise stated, and thus, it should be construed that it may further include other components, without including other components. All terms, including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art, unless otherwise defined. Commonly used terms, such as those defined in a dictionary, should be construed as being consistent with the contextual meaning of the related art and shall not be construed in an ideal or overly formal sense unless explicitly stated in the present disclosure.

(39) The above description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present disclosure, and a person skilled in the art may make various modifications and changes without departing from the essential characteristics of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the embodiments in the present disclosure are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present disclosure but to illustrate the present disclosure, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited by these embodiments. The scope of the present disclosure should be defined by the appended claims, and any technical idea falling within the scope of the present disclosure shall be construed as being included in the scope of the present disclosure.

REFERENCE SIGNS

(40) 10: oil fence 200: oil fence 201: floating body 203: skirt