What Is Voraxial Separator And How Can It Be Used To Mop Up Oil Spill?

Oil- it is a natural resource to mankind which Mother Nature gave us. A resource of such an importance, that an average man cannot go to work the next day without it!  But mishaps happen as always. They are not deliberate but just a mistake which may culminate into a still larger tragedy. Do you remember April 26 of last year? It was the day when the Gulf oil spill happened which spread 1,800 square miles!

The impact was such that, it cost British Petroleum a big deal. If the news from various sources is to be believed then civil Penalty alone on BP mounted to a whopping $14bn. At one time BP was spending $6m a day on the clean-up but this still rose to at least $10m a day! Well, whether it be an economical loss or not but one thing is for sure we have to save the environmental impacts of this major oil spill.

And with every problem the answer always almost come alongside. Well this time we have what is called a Voraxial separator. Enviro Voraxial Technology (the firm which invented this device) has approached British Petroleum with their device and everyone is seeing it as a method to mop up the spill without causing greater strain to the wider environment.

The technology used in this device can separate two liquids by the centrifugal action. The device consists of a cylindrical pipe which is mounted on the decks of ship. The ship will travel in the affected area and the machine will do its job. The function of the device is to suck the oil from sea and then rotate it inside the cylinder with such a great speed that the two liquids separate. The force of gravity or rather the specific gravity of two liquids is an important factor in separating the two liquids.

The liquids inside the cylindrical chamber produce a vortex which is spinning of liquids. In other words, any spiral motion along an axis which has closed stream lines is considered as a vortex flow. This vortex in context to this machine is often maintained turbulent. There are actually two types of vortices used in this machine. One is irrotational or free and the other is rotational or forced. The vortex is very powerful in the center but gets weakened as we approach away from the center. However, in case of both types of vortices we maintain what is called as a pressure minimum at the center while pressure minimum in case of irrotational vortex is lower than that of forced vortex flow.

Florida-based Enviro Voraxial Technology (EVTN) claims that “Due to the small physical footprint and low energy requirements of the various Voraxial models, almost any type of boat can be converted into an oil skimmer. A fishing boat, for example, could reportedly be equipped with two 4000’s, processing over 1.4 million gallons (5.3 million liters) of oil and water a day.”

The benefits we get from using this technology are quite interesting like it has a non- clogging open impeller; the oils are also not emulsified because it has a low shear impeller. Another very important advantage is that the device can function whether the input pressure is high or low. So the device can adjust itself even if the work load is more or less. The device is also available in varying speeds according to the requirements also the device works for a wide range of mixtures of liquids.

If we consider its wider applications then I think that this machine or rather this concept can be utilized in varied ways. It can not only be used in oil separation services and refineries but also in mining, manufacturing and food processing industries.  According to me the question is not it will tackle the oil tragedy or not, but the question is can we improve it and use the same technique in other industrial fields as well?

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