Oil spill recovery method

Abstract

Crude oils and other oleaginous substances which have washed onto and soaked thoroughly into coarse bottom sediments such as sand beaches and sediments forming the bottom of certain holding ponds may be released for recovery by mechanical or hydraulic plowing of the relatively loose sediments followed by hydraulic agitation of the sediments to permit the substances to float to the surface of the body of water. Shallow water beach areas may be plowed by a conventional crawler tractor having an array of ripper teeth fitted with hydraulic jet nozzles for severely agitating the sands which are plowed by the ripper teeth. A submersible pump or pump intake is preferably supported spaced from the normal path of the tractor and in the body of water to collect relatively clean water for discharge through the nozzles. A nozzle array may be mounted on a manifold supported from a floating vessel for vertical and angular adjustment relative to the bottom sediments utilizing the body of water as a source of hydraulic plowing and agitating fluid. An array of nozzles may include an angled nozzle having a generally planar jet pattern which acts to cut or plow the sand ahead of a full conical jet nozzle which thoroughly agitates the plowed or turned over sand to free the oil.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.