Crushed raw oil shale as oil spill adsorbent
AssigneePhillips Petroleum Company
InventorsDuane W. Gagle, Homer L. Draper
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Oil floating on the surface of another liquid is contacted with crushed raw oil shale to adsorb the oil onto the shale. A vortex is created in the surface of the liquid, drawing the crude shale with oil adsorbed thereon beneath the surface of the liquid. The invention provides method and apparatus for adsorbing oil on shale, causing the crude shale with oil adsorbed thereon to sink below the surface of the liquid, recovering the crude shale with oil adsorbed thereon from below the liquid surface, treating the crude shale to separate the oil from the shale, and recycling the crushed shale into contact with oil on the liquid surface.
Claims8
A method for removing oil from a liquid surface upon which said oil floats, said method comprising:
- (a) creating a vortex of the liquid,
- (b) contacting oil drawn into the vortex with crushed raw oil shale, and
- (c) drawing into said vortex the oil contacted with crushed raw oil shale, thereby causing the crushed shale with oil adsored thereon to sink beneath the surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.