Marine oil pollution fire fence

Oil pollution floating on a body of water is abated or contained by a fire fence generated by a series of devices which are interconnected by cables and anchored to form a barrier line. Each device comprises a buoy connected to a depending, negatively-buoyant tank of pressurized combustion gas and a burner nozzle disposed for providing a pilot flame near the water's surface to ignite an oil slick thereon. The pilot flame Way be controlled to sustain combustion of the floating oil and dissipation of same.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention pertains to a device and system for containing and 
abating a marine oil spill characterized by plural interconnected floating 
flame starters for burning and containing an oil slick. 
2. Background 
The containment and abatement of marine oil spills and other sources of 
marine oil pollution continue to be vexing problems. Many marine oil 
slicks may be abated by combustion of the oil. However, crude oils, in 
particular, may not sustain combustion over the entire area of the slick 
due to wind and wave action and due to the composition of the oil itself. 
However, combustion of marine oil slicks is one of the most complete and 
least capital intensive methods of abating and containing marine oil 
pollution. In this regard, a unique device, system and method have been 
developed for containing and abating oil spills and other sources of 
marine oil pollution by generating a fire fence or combustion zone to 
eliminate oil on the water's surface and to contain the spread of an oil 
slick. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a unique device, system and method for 
containing and abating marine oil pollution wherein a plurality of 
floating, self-contained burners are interconnected and anchored at the 
edge of an oil slick or an area to be protected and comprise a source of 
ignition for burning floating oil. 
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a device is 
provided which includes a burner head, a buoyant support for the burner 
head and a source of fuel for generating a pilot flame to ignite floating 
oil and similar combustible pollutants on the water's surface. The device 
includes a floating, fire-resistant vessel or buoy which supports a burner 
head, a control circuit for controlling the flow of fuel to the burner 
head and an ignitor for igniting the fuel and a self-contained fuel tank 
which, preferably, is suspended from the vessel and also functions to 
stabilize the device when disposed in the water. 
In accordance with another important aspect of the present invention, a 
plurality of the devices of the invention are interconnected to form a 
system which will sustain the ignition of the fringe of an oil slick to 
form a fire fence which will contain and abate the slick and prevent its 
incursion into a predetermined area. 
In accordance with yet a further aspect of the present invention, an 
improved method of containing and abating marine oil pollution is provided 
by the deployment of a unique set of flame generators or sources which 
will form a fire barrier to the spread of an oil slick while concomitantly 
abating or eliminating the oil slick. 
Those skilled in the art will recognize certain superior features and other 
advantages of the present invention upon reading the detailed description 
which follows.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
In the description which follows, like elements are marked throughout the 
specification and drawing with the same reference numerals, respectively. 
The drawing figures are not necessarily to scale and certain features are 
shown in generalized or schematic form in the interest of clarity and 
conciseness. 
Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a unique device, generally 
designated by the numeral 10, for providing a source of ignition and flame 
sustentation for a marine oil spill. The device 10 is characterized by a 
buoyant vessel or buoy member generally designated by the numeral 12 which 
may be of generally rectangular or cylindrical shape and which is formed 
of a suitable fire resistant and buoyant material such as compacted 
sintered pumice or glass particles which are suitably resistant to fire 
when exposed directly thereto. The buoy member 12 supports a curved 
conduit 14 having a burner nozzle 16 disposed on the distal end thereof 
and in proximity to the water surface 18. The nozzle 16 is disposed in a 
generally cylindrical tubular flame shield 20 and also in proximity to a 
spark ignitor 22 whereby, in response to conducting a suitable gaseous 
fuel through the conduit 14, a sustained or intermittent flame may be 
generated at the distal end 23 of the flame shield for igniting oil 
floating on the water surface 18 or sustaining the combustion of such oil. 
As shown in FIG. 1, the buoy member 12 includes a conduit 26 extending 
therethrough from the burner conduit 14 to a source of gaseous fuel 
disposed below the buoy member and comprising a suitable pressure vessel 
or tank 28. The tank 28 is connected to the buoy member 12 by a reinforced 
flexible conduit or hose 30 and a suitable pressure regulator 32 is 
interposed between the tank 28 and the burner nozzle 16 for regulating the 
pressure of gaseous fuel stored in the tank as it is conducted through the 
conduits 30, 26 and 14 to the burner nozzle. The tank 28 may be of 
suitable reinforced metal to withstand the pressure of a suitable quantity 
of gaseous fuel stored therein such as propane, butane or natural gas. The 
tank 28 may be suitably weighted such that it is slightly negatively 
buoyant when empty. In this way, the device 10 is stabilized by the 
depending tank 28 and its tether or connecting hose 30 even when the tank 
is empty or slightly depleted. The buoy member 12 is, of course, 
sufficiently buoyant to support the tank 28 when it is full of fuel. 
The device 10 preferably includes an on-board control system and electrical 
energy source such as indicated at numerals 34 and 36, respectively. A 
suitable energy source, such as a battery 36, is operable through a 
control circuit 34 to provide energy for opening and closing a solenoid 
operated valve 38 interposed in the conduit 26 and for generating a timed 
ignition spark at the ignitor 22, for example. The device 10 may be 
provided with a control circuit 34 which will intermittently open the 
valve 38 and generate a flame igniting spark at the ignitor 22, say at one 
minute intervals, for example. Other timed sequences or periods of 
ignition may be provided by the control circuit 34. The control circuit 34 
may also be remotely controlled by suitable radio operated switches or the 
like, not shown. Conductors leading to the ignitor 22 may be routed 
through suitable conduit means 40, 42, as shown in FIG. 1. The control 
circuit 34 and the battery 36 may be disposed in a suitable enclosure 44 
disposed in the buoy member 12 and suitably insulated from the extreme 
temperatures to which the device 10 may be exposed when floating in 
burning oil. The buoy member 12 may be provided with opposed mooring eyes 
50, one shown in FIG. 2 suitably secured to a metal band 52 to alleviate 
tension forces on the body of the buoy member. The valve 38 and the 
enclosure 44 are preferably disposed at or near the bottom side 13 of the 
buoy member 12 for easy access thereto and to minimize exposure to heat 
from burning oil on the water surface. 
As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of the devices 10 may be deployed in a body 
of water 60 in such a way that an oil slick 62 floating on the body of 
water may be contained and abated by igniting the burners of each of the 
devices 10 to create a fire fence. As shown in FIG. 3, a bay or cove 64 
formed between two land masses 66 and 68 may be kept free of the oil slick 
62 by deploying a system characterized by a plurality of the devices 10 
interconnected by suitable mooring cables 70 and also moored at opposite 
ends to the shores of the land masses 66 and 68. Upon ignition of each of 
the devices 10, a fire fence may be created across the mouth of the bay 64 
to prevent the oil slick 62 from migrating into the bay. Of course, a 
system comprising any number of the devices 10 interconnected by mooring 
cables 70 may be deployed in the open sea and suitably anchored at 
opposite ends by suitable sea anchors or other means, not shown, to form a 
fire fence to contain or prevent the migration of an oil slick. 
Accordingly, when an oil slick is detected and its spread is desired to be 
prevented, a suitable number of the devices 10 may be deployed from a 
suitable aircraft or launch and recovery ship, not shown, individually or 
interconnected to each other and strung out to form a barrier or fence for 
an oil slick. The size of the device 10 and its fuel tank 28 may be 
determined by the expected "burn" time of the device. The tank 28 may, for 
example, be sized to accept from 2 gallons to 20 gallons of fuel. The 
smaller size may be more suitable for low altitude aircraft deployment. 
Once the interconnected devices 10 have been deployed in the body of water 
to be rid of an oil slick, the individual burners of each device 10 may be 
ignited by remote control or by a predetermined, preset control to 
periodically or continuously provide a pilot flame to ignite the oil 
floating on the water surface. Thanks to the location of the fuel tank 28 
of each of the devices 10, the floating buoy members 12 and their burner 
nozzles 16 are stabilized in proximity to the floating oil slick and the 
source of fuel is suitably removed from the vicinity of burning oil. 
The device 10 may, of course, be constructed of suitable fire-resistant 
metals such as stainless steel for the conduits and components which are 
likely to be exposed to elevated temperatures. The buoy member 12 is 
desirably made of a buoyant fire-resistant material described hereinbefore 
but may be formed of steel or more conventional materials of construction 
for floating vessels which are capable of continued exposure to flame. The 
cables 70 should, of course, be of high-strength steel or suitable 
fire-resistant material. 
Although preferred embodiments of the present invention are described 
hereinabove, those skilled in the art will recognize that various 
substitutions and modifications may be made to the invention without 
departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.