Development of Oil Recovery Unit for Ice-covered Waters-Application of Air Bubble-Induced Current

Abstract

An R & D project has been carried out by the National Maritime Research Institute (NMRI) for an oil recovery unit that can be used for ice-covered waters. The mechanical recovery of oil in ice is a difficult problem. Oil spilled in ice-covered waters spreads along the leads between the ice floes. Recovery of such oil requires two different processes: separation of oil from the ice and oil recovery from the water. The first process calls for new ideas, while conventional techniques for open water conditions may be applicable to the second process. The unit developed by NMRI uses air bubbles to separate oil from floating ice floes. This article presents the basic concepts of the unit and some results from scaled model tests performed at the ice model basin at NMRI.