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US 2020/0269165 A1Published application
Underwater water treatment unit and method for cleaning said unit
AssigneesTotal SA, Saipem S.P.A., Veolia Eau - Compagnie Generale Des Eaux, VWS Westgarth Limited
InventorsLuc RIVIERE, Pierre, Didier BIGEONNEAU, Stéphane ANRES, Raymond HALLOT, Wayne EVANS, David LOTHIAN
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Abstract
The invention concerns an underwater water treatment unit which has specific cleaning means which are suitable for cleaning filtration membranes in the unconventional conditions associated with use at great or very great depths, as well as a method for cleaning the membrane of the underwater water treatment unit.
Claims10
A method for cleaning the filtration membrane of an underwater unit including means for supplying the underwater unit with power;
- an underwater water treatment system which includes at least one filtration membrane, a water intake which is suitable to bring a flow of water drawn from the environment of the system into the underwater unit, a pipe connecting said water intake and said filtration membrane, a discharge pipe for treated water and at least one supply pump which is suitable for carrying out the water filtration;
- a hydraulic cleaning circuit for cleaning said membrane, said circuit forming a loop between the inlet and the outlet of said membrane, and having a discharge pipe;
- at least two water storage tanks, each water tank being connected to the cleaning circuit;
- at least one tank for storing a cleaning product selected from among an acid and a base, the cleaning product tank being connected to the cleaning circuit;
- at least one cleaning pump which is suitable for setting the liquids in the cleaning circuit into motion;
- said filtration membrane being provided with at least one heating means, and at least one of the water tanks being provided with at least one means for heating the tank, said method including the steps consisting in:
- a) cutting off the inlet of water into said filtration membrane;
- b) injecting water contained in one of the water storage tanks into the hydraulic cleaning circuit, and making said water circulate in a loop in the hydraulic cleaning circuit using the cleaning pump;
- c) heating the filtration membrane up to a temperature of between 15° C. and 40° C. inclusive using the heating means;
- d) injecting a cleaning product contained in at least one storage tank into the hydraulic cleaning circuit;
- e) discharging the contents of the hydraulic cleaning circuit via the discharge pipe;
- f) injecting water contained in one of the water storage tanks into the hydraulic cleaning circuit again, and making said water circulate in a loop in the hydraulic cleaning circuit;
- and
- g) discharging the contents of the hydraulic cleaning circuit via the discharge pipe again.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.