Containment unit and method of using same
AssigneeMarquix, Inc.
InventorRonald Cook
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention generally relates to containment and control of an oil spill caused by a damaged or broken riser in deepwater. More specifically, the present invention relates to a reusable unit that will contain oil spills to a specific location and will also allow oil to be harvested as it flows to the top of the unit while minimizing or even eliminating any environmental clean-up cost. The unit of the present invention is dropped over a damaged or broken riser in a closed position, the unit is released and stabilized in sections until the surface is reached and the containment unit is completely erected.
Claims22
A containment unit for containing a leak of a material into an ambient fluid, the containment unit comprising:
- a weighted base for being disposed around the leak wherein the weighted base is rectangular and comprises first and second end pieces and braces connecting the first and second end pieces to one another, the first and second end pieces being spaced apart from one another to provide an opening configured to allow the ambient fluid to enter the containment unit, flow through the containment unit, and comingle with the material;
- a flotation unit attachable to the weighted base, the flotation unit comprising a flotation device and a barrier wall;
- and
- one or more additional flotation units attachable to and stackable on the flotation unit, the additional flotation units comprising additional flotation devices and additional barrier walls configured to contain the material;
- wherein the flotation device and the additional flotation devices comprise coated foam supported by a brace and have identical rectangular shape as the weighted base.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.