Behavior of a Contractile Floating Reservoir for the Confinement and Recovery of Oil Slicks

Abstract

A new system for the confinement and recovery of oil slicks or other floating materials is tested in a physical model to evaluate its feasibility and effectiveness. It consists of encircling a polluted area by a specially designed boom using light-weight material, in such a way as to trap entirely the oil slick inside a circular reservoir, making its dispersion less widespread. The system allows the oil slick to be slowly towed to safer zones, where it can be pumped and recycled after separating the reservoir into several compartments in order to increase the efficiency of pumping and treatment. The experimental investigation was carried out in a small-scale model and demonstrated the effectiveness of the system in practical situations. In terms of oil loss, the limits for the critical waves and towing velocities were determined. Carefully selected polymer granulate layers were used to reproduce the characteristics of oil slicks.