US 2021/0002146 A1 · ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY SEA WATER INTAKE PROCESS AND APPARATUS

Abstract

A sea water intake unit comprising a source of air (12), a substantially vertical pipe (10) having an air inlet and a sea water inlet for air lifting sea water in the substantially vertical pipe to a height above sea level, the depth of the inlet below sea level being sufficient to promote air lifting of the sea water to the height above sea level. The air lift delivers sea water to a pre-treatment filter unit (22) in fluid communication with the vertical pipe in which the rate of flow of the sea water is such as to separate out small marine life in an upper portion of the water from the lower filtered portion, and a discharge pipe (40) to return at least some of the sea water and marine life back to the sea. The intake unit may deliver the lower filtered water to a desalination plant (6) provided on a disused offshore platform (2).

Claims19

Dependent claims

A method for delivering sea water to a water treatment plant, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) delivering air to at least one inlet in a substantially vertical pipe having at least one sea water inlet at a depth below sea level and air lifting sea water in the pipe to a height above sea level, the depth of the inlet below sea level being sufficient to promote air lifting of the sea water to said height above sea level;
(b) passing at least part of the sea water through a pre-treatment filter media at a flow rate sufficiently low to retain small fish, eggs and other small marine life in another part of the sea water above the filter media;
(c) discharging the small fish, eggs and other marine life to the sea with a proportion of the airlifted seawater;
and
(d) delivering the remaining proportion of sea water comprising the pre-treated filter water to a treatment plant.

2 more elements

A sea water intake unit comprising:

(a) a source of air;
(b) a substantially vertical pipe having at least one air inlet and at least one sea water inlet provided in sea water at depth below sea level, said source of air delivering air to an anterior of the vertical pipe to airlift the sea water through the vertical pipe to a height above sea level, the depth of the inlet below sea level being sufficient to promote air lifting of the sea water to said height above sea level;
(c) a pre-treatment filter unit in fluid communication with the vertical pipe, the sea water passing through the filter unit at a flow rate sufficiently low to retain small fish, eggs and other small marine life in another part of the sea water above the filter unit to separate the small fish, eggs and other small marine life from the remaining proportion of the sea water;
(d) a discharge pipe to return at least a proportion of the air lifted sea water with the marine life back to the sea;
and
(e) a delivery pipe to deliver the remaining proportion of the sea water comprising the pre-treated filtered water to a treatment plant.

3 more elements

An apparatus for the desalination of sea water, the apparatus comprising:

(a) a sea water intake unit;
(b) a disused offshore platform located in the sea, the platform supporting at least one semi-permeable membrane for receiving sea water from the sea water intake pipe, the at least one semi-permeable membrane providing desalinated product water and brine;
and
(c) a pipeline to deliver the desalinated product water directly or indirectly to land.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Environmentally friendly sea water intake process and apparatus

Life of this patent

Environmentally friendly sea water intake process and apparatus

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims19