Marine discharge control apparatus and method for treating fluids on a marine vessel
AssigneeKeene Corporation
InventorIvan Bartik
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for treating fluids on a marine vessel, especially bilge and ballast water, in which the fluid to be treated is passed through filtering and coalescing devices to bring about separation of the oil from the water, whereupon the oil is delivered to an oil tank and the water is discharged overboard. The purity of the discharged water is continuously monitored by a turbidity meter and the flow of the fluid through the system is controlled thereby so that the discharged water will meet all pollution standards.
Claims11
In a system for treating bilge or ballast liquid on board a marine vessel to separate the oil therein from the water, said system comprising in combination, a filter/coalescing unit means having liquid inlet means, oil outlet means and water outlet means, said filter/coalescing unit means operable to separate and filter the oil and water flowing therethrough, a pump connected to supply liquid to be treated to said inlet means, said water outlet means including a turbidity meter operable to develop a signal in response to any oil that may be in the water, said turbidity meter operable to monitor the full flow of any water therein, and control means connected to said turbidity meter and responsive to said actuating signal for interrupting the flow of water through the water outlet means when oil of predetermined maximum is reached.
The method of treating bilge or ballast liquid on a marine vessel to clarify the water content of the liquid to such a degree as to permit discharge thereof overboard the vessel, said method comprising;
- passing the bilge or ballast liquid through a plurality of filter/coalescer elements in series and causing the oil in the fluid to coalesce into droplets of substantial size on the discharge side of each filter/coalescer element, withdrawing oil from the discharge side of each filter/coalescer element, continuously measuring the turbidity of the full flow of water discharged from the last filter/coalescer element, and interrupting the discharge of water overboard the vessel when the measured turbidity exceeds a predetermined amount.
The method of treating bilge or ballast liquid on a marine vessel to clarify the water content of the liquid to such a degree as to permit discharge thereof overboard the vessel, said method comprising;
- passing the bilge liquid radially outwardly through a plurality of independently housed filtering and coalescing elements in series, permitting the oil which coalesces in each element to rise in the respective housing while the remainder of the fluid being treated flows downwardly therein, withdrawing oil from the upper portion of each housing while withdrawing fully treated water from the lower portion of the last housing, continuously measuring the turbidity of the full flow of the withdrawn treated water, and interrupting the discharge of the treated water overboard when the measured turbidity thereof exceeds a predetermined maximum.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.