Methane Clathrate Harvesting Systems and Methods
OwnerSusanne F. Vaughaninventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In some embodiments, a system may include a harvesting unit configured to operate under water to traverse and extract gas from clathrate hydrate deposits. The harvesting unit can include a housing defining an enclosure at least partially open along a bottom portion to receive a clathrate slurry associated with a selected one of the clathrate hydrate deposits. The harvesting unit may further include a separator chamber within the housing defining a negative pressure and configured to receive the clathrate slurry and a skirt coupled to the enclosure adjacent to the bottom portion and configured to form a flexible barrier between the enclosure and an external environment. The skirt may be formed from a plurality of elements configured to allow fluid flow therethrough.
Claims20
A system comprising:
- a harvesting unit configured to operate under water to traverse and extract gas from clathrate hydrate deposits, the harvesting unit including:
- a housing defining an enclosure at least partially open along a bottom portion to receive a clathrate slurry associated with a selected one of the clathrate hydrate deposits;
- a separator chamber within the housing defining a negative pressure and configured to receive the clathrate slurry;
- and
- a skirt coupled to the enclosure adjacent to the bottom portion and configured to form a flexible barrier between the enclosure and an external environment, the skirt formed from a plurality of elements configured to allow fluid flow therethrough.
A system comprising:
- a mobile harvesting unit configured to operate under water to traverse and extract gas from a clathrate hydrate deposit, the mobile harvesting unit including:
- a housing defining an enclosure;
- a propulsion system coupled to the housing;
- a separator chamber within the housing and configured to apply a negative pressure, the separator chamber configured to receive a clathrate slurry associated with a selected one of the clathrate hydrate deposits, the separator chamber including at least one of a centrifuge component and an impeller configured to separate gas from the pieces of the clathrate slurry and to dispel debris away from the harvesting unit;
- and
- a skirt coupled to the housing and configured to form a flexible barrier between the enclosure and an external environment along a bottom portion of the housing.
A system comprising:
- a harvesting unit configured to operate under water to traverse and extract gas from clathrate hydrate deposits, the harvesting unit including:
- a housing defining an enclosure at least partially open along a bottom portion to receive a clathrate slurry associated with a selected one of the clathrate hydrate deposits;
- a skirt coupled to the enclosure adjacent to the bottom portion and configured to form a flexible barrier between the enclosure and an external environment, the skirt formed from a plurality of elements configured to allow fluid flow therethrough;
- a propulsion system coupled to the housing;
- a clathrate hydrate extraction system at least partially beneath the housing and configured to cut a portion of the selected one of the clathrate hydrate deposits to form a slurry;
- a clathrate hydrate separation system within the housing;
- and
- a control system including a plurality of distributed controllers, each controller including one or more processors associated with one or more components of each of the propulsion system, the clathrate hydrate extraction system, and the clathrate hydrate separation system.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.