Patent Publication Number: US-2017355616-A1

Title: System for producing crystallized salt and bittern containing amounts of specific minerals

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This present Application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Pat. No. 9,181,102, issued on Nov. 10, 2015, and is claiming the benefits of U.S. Pat. No. 8,894,810, issued on Nov. 25, 2014. 
     The entire disclosures of all these Patents are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
     A system for producing crystallized salt and bittern containing amounts of specific minerals. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The proposed system can mass produce crystallized salt and bittern which, contain amounts of specific minerals. The proposed system which is situated at a specific offshore location can substitute a system for producing amounts of natural sun-dried salt and bittern through a traditional salt evaporation pond process at a specific onshore location. 
     The seawater used for the proposed system is extracted at specific water depths and at a specific offshore location, which is around underwater volcanic sites where the seawater is affected by volcanic eruption activity originating from underwater volcanoes, in which underwater volcanoes at spreading ridges and convergent plate boundaries produce hot springs known as hydrothermal vents. 
     The extracted seawater used for the proposed system contains amounts of specific minerals having amounts of specific chemical elements and specific chemical compounds. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The proposed system in which its purpose is to produce crystallized salt and bittern through evaporation process using extracted seawater. 
     The buoyant foundation of the proposed system is reinforced by offshore structures, which are embedded to the seafloor. The buoyant foundation of the proposed system can be a movable structure with a motor propeller installed or a towboat connected to the buoyant foundation. 
     The components, which are used for the proposed system, such as seawater tanks and evaporator tanks, are fixed on the buoyant foundations situated at specific offshore locations. The seawater tanks are used for extracting seawater at specific water depths and at a specific offshore location, which is around underwater volcanic sites where the seawater is affected by volcanic eruption activity. 
     The proposed system further comprises of a remotely operated vehicle, which is an underwater robotic device. The remotely operated vehicle is able to measure amounts of specific minerals having amounts of specific chemical elements and specific chemical compounds, using seawater samples which are obtained by a remotely operated vehicle. The remotely operated vehicle can be used for selecting specific positions where the seawater is extracted at specific water depths and at a specific offshore location, which is around underwater volcanic sites where the seawater is affected by volcanic eruption activity. 
     The seawater extraction vessel is connected to the seawater tank, which is a component for the proposed system, in order to extract seawater at a specific offshore location. The seawater can be extracted by the seawater tank using an installed seawater extraction tube at specific water depths and a specific offshore location, which is around underwater volcanic sites where the seawater is affected by volcanic eruption activity. 
     The seawater tanks fixed on the buoyant foundations, in which the buoyant foundations are situated at specific offshore locations and in which the seawater tanks are connected to the seawater extraction vessels, are used for extracting seawater. The seawater extraction vessels are situated at specific offshore locations. 
     The extracted seawater can be delivered by transport vessels to the evaporator tanks, which are components for the proposed system and used for evaporating extracted seawater. The evaporator tanks are separately installed and fixed on the buoyant foundations situated at different offshore locations, such as a harbor facility site protected by installed breakwaters. 
     The extracted seawater contains amounts of specific minerals having amounts of specific chemical elements and specific chemical compounds. 
     The proposed system further comprises of a refinery facility. The refinery facility is a chemical plant which is used for producing specific chemical products using produced crystallized salt and bittern. The produced crystallized salt and bittern can be delivered by transport vessels from the components of the proposed system to the refinery facility. The produced crystallized salt and bittern contain amounts of specific minerals originating from extracted seawater, which have amounts of specific chemical elements and specific chemical compounds. The amounts of specific minerals of the specific chemical products can be affected by the produced crystallized salt and bittern. The refinery facility is (a) fixed on the buoyant foundation situated at a specific offshore location or (b) installed at an onshore location. 
     The warehouse facility, which is used for storing the specific chemical products which are from the refinery facility, can be installed at an onshore location. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a top view of an embodiment of components fixed on a buoyant foundation. 
         FIGS. 2A and 2B  are side views of a buoyant foundation with an installed motor propeller and a connected towboat, respectively. 
         FIG. 3  is a side view of a seawater extraction vessel connected to a seawater tank. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of an embodiment of buoyant foundations situated at a specific offshore location, which is around underwater volcanic sites. 
         FIG. 5  is a top view of a harbor facility site protected by installed breakwaters and a refinery facility installed at an onshore location. 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of a harbor facility site protected by installed breakwaters and refinery facilities fixed on a buoyant foundation, which is situated at a specific offshore location. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Detailed embodiments of the invention can be illustrated using the accompanying drawings as reference. 
     A system, in which its purpose is for producing crystallized salt and bittern, using extracted seawater which contains amounts of specific minerals which have amounts of specific chemical elements and specific chemical compounds, is situated at a specific offshore location, which is around underwater volcanic sites where the seawater is affected by volcanic eruption activity. 
     The seawater used for the proposed system is extracted at specific water depths and at a specific offshore location, which is around underwater volcanic sites where the seawater is affected by volcanic eruption activity originating from underwater volcanoes, in which underwater volcanoes at spreading ridges and convergent plate boundaries produce hot springs known as hydrothermal vents. 
     In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , the components  201  which are used for the proposed system, such as seawater tanks and evaporator tanks, are fixed on the buoyant foundation  101  situated at a specific offshore location. 
     The buoyant foundation  101  of the proposed system can be a movable structure with a motor propeller  203  installed, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2A , or a towboat  301  connected to the buoyant foundation  101 , as shown in  FIG. 2B . 
     The seawater tanks  202  of the components  201 , which are used for extracting seawater. The seawater tanks  202  fixed on the buoyant foundation  101  which are situated at a specific offshore location, which is around underwater volcanic sites where the seawater is affected by volcanic eruption activity originating from underwater volcanoes  401 , as shown in  FIGS. 2A, 2B , and  4 . 
     The proposed system further comprises of a remotely operated vehicle  304 , which is an underwater robotic device. The remotely operated vehicle  304  is able to measure amounts of specific minerals having amounts of specific chemical elements and specific chemical compounds, using seawater samples which are obtained by a remotely operated vehicle  304 . The remotely operated vehicle  304  can be used for selecting specific positions where the seawater is extracted at specific water depths and at a specific offshore location which is around underwater volcanic sites where the seawater is affected by volcanic eruption activity, as shown in  FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3, and 4 . 
     The seawater extraction vessel  303  is connected to the seawater tank  202  which is a component for the proposed system, in order to extract seawater at a specific offshore location, as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     The seawater can be extracted by a seawater tank  202  using an installed seawater extraction tube  205  at specific water depths and a specific offshore location, which is around underwater volcanic sites where the seawater is affected by volcanic eruption activity originating from underwater volcanoes  401 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     A seawater extraction pipe  204  can be equipped with a seawater tank  202  fixed on the buoyant foundation  101 . The seawater extraction pipe  204  is used for extracting seawater at a specific offshore location. The seawater tank  202  of the components  201  can adjust the depths of the seawater extraction pipe  204  in order to extract seawater at specific water depths, as shown in  FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 4 . 
     In the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the seawater tanks  202  fixed on the buoyant foundations  101 , in which the buoyant foundations  101  are situated at specific offshore locations and in which the seawater tanks  202  are connected to the seawater extraction vessels  303 , are used for extracting seawater. The seawater extraction vessels  303  are situated at specific offshore locations. The extracted seawater can be delivered by transport vessels to the evaporator tanks, which are components  201  for the proposed system and used for evaporating extracted seawater. The components  201 , such as evaporator tanks, are separately installed and fixed on the buoyant foundations  101  situated at different offshore locations, such as a harbor facility site protected by installed breakwaters  103 . 
     The extracted seawater contains amounts of specific minerals having amounts of specific chemical elements and specific chemical compounds. The specific chemical elements can consist essentially of Aluminium, Antimony, Arsenic, Barium, Bromine, Calcium, Carbon, Chlorine, Cobalt, Copper, Gallium, Gold, Helium, Hydrogen, Indium, Iron, Lead, Lithium, Magnesium, Manganese, Mercury, Molybdenum, Nickel, Oxygen, Potassium, Scandium, Selenium, Silicon, Silver, Sodium, Strontium, Sulfur, Tantalum, Thallium, Tin, Titanium, Tungsten, Vanadium, Yttrium, Zinc, Zirconium, Cerium, Dysprosium, Erbium, Europium, Gadolinium, Holmium, Lanthanum, Neodymium, Praseodymium, Samarium, Terbium, Thorium, Uranium, and Ytterbium. 
     The specific chemical compounds can consist essentially of Carbon dioxide, Hydrogen sulfide, and Methane. 
     In the embodiments shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the proposed system further comprises a refinery facility  402 . The refinery facility  402  is a chemical plant which is used for producing specific chemical products using produced crystallized salt and bittern. The produced crystallized salt and bittern can be delivered by transport vessels  302  from the components  201  of the proposed system to the refinery facility  402 . 
     The produced crystallized salt and bittern contain amounts of specific minerals originating from extracted seawater, which have amounts of specific chemical elements and specific chemical compounds. The amounts of specific minerals of the specific chemical products can be affected by the produced crystallized salt and bittern. The refinery facilities  402  are (a) fixed on the buoyant foundation  101  at a specific offshore location or (b) installed at an onshore location. 
     The refinery facility  402  can be installed on a harbor facility site. The installed breakwaters  103  in a harbor facility site can be used for protecting the components  201  of the proposed system and towboats  301 . The buoyant foundation  101  situated at a specific offshore location, such as a harbor facility site, can be reinforced by offshore structures  102 , which are embedded to the seafloor. 
     The warehouse facility  403 , which is used for storing the specific chemical products which are from the refinery facility  402 , can be installed at an onshore location. 
     DRAWING REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
         
           101  Buoyant Foundation 
           102  Offshore Structures 
           103  Breakwaters 
           201  Components 
           202  Seawater Tank 
           203  Motor Propeller 
           204  Seawater Extraction Pipe 
           205  Seawater Extraction Tube 
           301  Towboat 
           302  Transport Vessel 
           303  Seawater Extraction Vessel 
           304  Remotely Operated Vehicle 
           401  Underwater Volcanoes 
           402  Refinery Facility 
           403  Warehouse Facility