High density fluid recovery of sunken material
AssigneeSYNCRUDE CANADA LTD. in trust for the owners of the Syncrude Project as such owners exist now and in the future
InventorTrevor Finlayson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for recovering a sunken material from a body of water having a water layer and a sediment layer, the sunken material present at a water-sediment interface is presented, comprising using an impermeable hollow column and a high density fluid to float the sunken material to the top of the column for readily removal of the floated sunken material using surface material removing equipment.
Claims20
A method for recovering a sunken material from a body of water having a water layer and a sediment layer, the sunken material present at a water-sediment interface, comprising:
- inserting an impermeable hollow column vertically into the body of water and through the sunken material such that a top of the column is exposed to the atmosphere and a bottom of the column is embedded into the sediment layer;
- removing water present in the column at or near the top of the column while simultaneously injecting a high density fluid at or near the bottom of the column to float the sunken material to the top of the column;
- and
- removing floated sunken material using surface material removing equipment.
A method for recovering a sunken material from a body of water having a water layer and a sediment layer, the sunken material present at a water-sediment interface, comprising:
- inserting an impermeable hollow column vertically into the body of water and through the sunken material such that a top of the column is exposed to the atmosphere and a bottom of the column is embedded into the sediment layer;
- adding an amount of dry chemical to the column sufficient to produce a high density fluid and float the sunken material to the top of the column;
- and
- removing floated sunken material using surface material removing equipment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.