One Way To Stop The Oil Leak
71Out of control
More than a mile below
I can only imagine how difficult it must be TRYING to figure out how to stop this massive leak of crude oil spewing into the waters, killing our natural resources.
If the leak were in 20 feet of water, it would probably be no big deal, but it's over a MILE below the surface. The dangers are huge just going to that depth, let alone trying to stop an oil leak that is spilling out 1000's of barrels a day.
The media isn't covering the story very much lately, but that doesn't mean that it's any less important. Something has to be done and QUICK!
I put some thought into this problem and come up with the following. I'm no scientist, but it makes sense to me.
Picture of the rig
The rig explodes
For whatever reason, the RIG itself explodes! After this catastrophe the leak begins to spew into the ocean 100's of 1000's of gallons of crude oil. The marine wildlife and ecosystem are in grave danger.
We can actually use the "water" as an advantage, in this case. It's next to impossible to go down a mile below the surface and drill and or attach another device to stop this oil leak. The other problem along with the depth is the "pressure" the oil is spewing out at.
The picture below shows a cartoon example of where the leak is located.
Leak
Weight can overcome pressure
Think about this for a second. If we could take a large dome shaped bell and cover the leak there would still be a couple of problems. Number one the dome would have air inside of it as it goes down and would have a tendency to float, unless we turned it upside down to let the air out. Secondly once it was down to the bottom, HOW would we get it turned right side up again? The other problem would be, how would we keep it from leaking under the edge of the bell shaped dome?
I think I have a solution. Although it wouldn't be easy, it makes sense.
We can manufacturer a "bell" that is large enough to cover the leak and have a "relief valve" at the top, so that oil and water can pass through. This is important because we have to be able to sit it over the leak without having the spewing oil from distracting the placement. by tipping the bell as we are trying to position it. Secondly the valve would allow us to maneuver through the water because it wouldn't trap air in the top, we would have this valve open until the bell is in place.
The last thing, would be that the "bell" would have to be "heavy" enough to overcome the pressure of the leaking oil. Our scientist and engineers would have to calculate the needed weight. My thinking is that if it weighs enough, the oil can't penetrate past the heaviness of the bell. So the dead weight sitting on the bottom of the ocean would create and "oil tight seal!"
Bell with valve
Transporting the bell
We would use one of our many Navy ships to transport the large bell to the location of the leak. From there we could use a large crane, or a military helicopter to lift the bell from the deck of the ship. The bell would be placed in the water with the valve opened at the top.
Ship and cargo
One of the ways
There is probably many ways to transport the bell to the bottom of the ocean, but we need to make certain it remains upright and we have total control. I found this wonderful invention idea online. The inventor designed a way to control a heavy object by using a chamber of gases, controlling the buoyancy. This is one of many ways to lower this heavy object and staying control of the decent.
For credit purposes, the inventor that created this device I am referring to i;
"Inventors:
Leonard, Kenneth J. (Midlothian, VA)
Engel, John (Carlsbad, CA)"
Boyancy control
Positioning the bell
Once the bell is in place on the ocean floor, we can make sure the bottom of the bell is firmly planted on the ocean bottom. If there are some irregular places on the floor, We can use filler from rocks or other formations to create a better seal. The idea is that the "weight alone" will be enough to overcome the pressure from the spewing oil. Once it is in place, we move to the top of the bell and SHUTOFF the valve!
Problem solved! This valve could even be designed to use as a way to reattach the rig for future pumping.
Putting the bell in place
It's important to be positive
Not everyone will approach this situation positively. We do have a say and can help. I contacted BP yesterday about my possible solution. They have a phone bank set up to take your calls. After I called them they sent me an email with an attachment to fill out. I got my reply back yesterday and it said:
"Dear jeff agans,
Thank you so much for taking the time to think about and submit your proposed solution regarding the Horizon incident. Your submission has been reviewed for its technical merits. A similar approach has already been considered or planned for possible implementation. All of us on the Horizon Support Team appreciate your thoughts and efforts.
Sincerely yours,
Horizon Support Team"
If you have an idea of your own, please contact them here
Explaining the oil leak
CommentsLoading...
SOUNDS GOOD!!! Now, time to get BP off their butts and do something!
Now at least some one is using their noodle!
Do you guys ever watch the news? this has been done and it formed ice inside of it and didn't work. Oh sorry I guess CNN and MSNBC did'nt cover this, Maybe you should pay a few bucks for FOX
Thanks ralph, Kj and gentlebreeze!
They tried something similiar however the methane gas built up so quickly, it became a bigger liability. I think they were afraid the entire thing would explode possibly opening up the pipe more and making matters worse.
I actually have a better solution. Reform campaign finance laws so our lawmakers make decisions without bias towards big corporations who line their pockets with campaign contributions. When BP, exxon, etc say that they want to drill in the ocean for oil, we say "that sounds like a pretty stupid idea"
I am a member of the BP Alternative Response Team. Your bell suggestion has been reviewed. Many designs have been submitted that contain similar logic and design derivations. I assure you that BP technical resources are deftly studying a wide variety of individual solutions and combinations thereof. On a personal note I deeply appreciate the time and energy you have given to solving this unfortunate and tragic event. Keep the ideas flowing, but more importantly trust that we are in this together to find the solution sooner rather than later.
LRC Blogger
Perhaps the relief valve at the top would help in the Methane gas situation. The valve could be used to pipe in evacuation.
Several people have been pointing out that a few empty oil tankers could have been sucking up the oil at the surface if they were available.
Everything is worth trying at this point. The fishing industry is dead for a long time, and the environment is hurting, a bell, a cap, tankers, anything other than going golfing like our fearless leader has done.
Great points Ralph and jiberish!
There is a website where you can call BP and voice your opinion
I have been checking your site when I can... Thanks again for your ideas and concern. ART Team Member
BP ART
Thanks for checking my site. I was watching the news last night and they said you guys were going to try and fill the tube with mud at a higher pressure than what the oil is coming out. I have some concern about that. If there are some weak areas anywhere in the pipe, it could cause more leaks to develop.
My bell idea would slow the flow down considerably and even allow you to use the valve at the top to capture oil in a tanker. This might buy us some more time to come up with a more permanent repair.
I was surfing hubpages and found another blog about the spill. There was a long comment from someone that appears to have some good ideas but no one seems to be addressing his ideas. I will post it below and I hope that someone from BP will take a look at it.
"Arthur Fontesposted 3 hours ago
Has everything been done that could be done to contain this spill?
From AOL news:
May 14) -- Even as proposals pour in for cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, one veteran of a massive (and secret) crude spill in the Persian Gulf says he has a tried-and-true solution.
Now if only the people who could make it happen would return his calls.
"No one's listening," says Nick Pozzi, who was an engineer with Saudi Aramco in the Middle East when he says an accident there in 1993 generated a spill far larger than anything the United States has ever seen.
Eric Gay, AP
A shrimp boat collects oil with booms in the waters of Chandeleur Sound, La., on May 5. An engineer who witnessed a crude spill in the Persian Gulf in 1993 says BP should use a fleet of empty supertankers to suck crude off the water's surface.
According to Pozzi, that mishap, kept under wraps for close to two decades and first reported by Esquire, dumped nearly 800 million gallons of oil into the Persian Gulf, which would make it more than 70 times the size of the Exxon Valdez spill.
But remarkably, by employing a fleet of empty supertankers to suck crude off the water's surface, Pozzi's team was not only able to clean up the spill, but also salvage 85 percent of the oil, he says.
"We took [the oil] out of the water so it would save the environment off the Arabian Gulf, and then we put it into tanks until we could figure out how to clean it," he told AOL News.
While BP, the oil giant at the center of the recent accident, works to stanch the leak from the sunken Deepwater Horizon rig, Pozzi insists the company should be following his lead.
AOL News could not independently verify Pozzi's account, but one former Aramco employee did acknowledge that there was a large spill in the region in the early '90s, and that Aramco had used tankers to clean up earlier oil slicks.
Pozzi, now retired, spent 17 years of his career in Saudi Arabia, part of it as a manager in Aramco's technical support and maintenance division.
Shortly after the April 22 sinking of the Deepwater Horizon, he and a friend, Houston attorney Jon King (with whom Pozzi recently launched a business called Wow Environmental Solutions), traveled to Houma, La., headquarters for BP's response center, to offer up the lessons he'd learned working in the Persian Gulf.
Ever since, he says, the pair's been stonewalled.
When he called the manager at BP in charge of the cleanup effort, Pozzi says he was told "don't bother me."
"He said, 'Follow procedures,' " Pozzi recalls. "He said, 'I'm taking names and I'm going to sue you.' "
Next, Pozzi and King phoned the president of BP and left a message with his secretary. An hour later, though, they received a call from "from a young lady in BP headquarters" who asked how she might assist them. They told her about their plan -- but have received no further contact.
Then, early this week, the duo say they spoke with Capt. Ed Stanton, the Coast Guard commander overseeing a length of the affected coastline. Stanton asked for a written proposal. That's the last Pozzi and King heard from him.
"It sounds so simple that they turn around and say, 'That was years ago. We've got modern technology now,' " Pozzi says. "But their modern technology isn't working too well."
Last week BP lowered a concrete-and-steel containment dome into the gulf in a highly chronicled effort to cap the underwater leak, only to have to quickly abort that effort.
Meantime, Saudia Arabia is sitting on the world's largest fleet of supertankers. Pozzi suggests that the U.S. government tell the Saudis: " 'Hey, we helped you out, can you help us out? Lend us some supertankers.' For a little payback for helping them out during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait."
Moreover, he says, "there are many, many, many other countries that have oil tankers" that, for a price, could be deployed off Louisiana.
Stephen Reilly, CEO of Slickbar, a leading oil spill equipment and vessels manufacturer, says that while he's unfamiliar with supertankers being used in this way, Pozzi's proposal could well work.
"Any containment area or barge or tanker can be used for reception, and they certainly have the pumping system on board," Reilly says. "So in terms of using assets like that to pump stuff into tanks, by all means."
Pozzi speculates that the reluctance on the part of those he's contacted comes down to one word: cash. When oil tankers are taken out of service for a special project like this, they stop earning money for their owners.
BP, Pozzi says, should "step up to the plate" and offer to pay anyone willing to lend a tanker whatever they would lose in profits by dispatching one of their ships to the gulf region.
BP on Thursday said the cost of battling the spill has reached nearly $450 million.
Calls to BP and Stanton were not immediately returned. The BP press line voice mail message asks anyone offering "technical solutions" to dial another number to "most efficiently" address the suggestion.
During his years with Aramco, Pozzi says, he took a number of approaches to cleaning oil spills, from dumping flour into the sea and hauling out the resultant tar gobs to dropping hay into the slicks and burning it.
The 1993 Persian Gulf spill, Pozzi says, began when Aramco was loading a tanker and "the umbilical cord got away." Oil started spewing from the pumps. Panicked, a line of tankers waiting to be filled began hightailing away from the flammable spray. Massive ships maneuvered in tight quarters. It was chaos.
Because of a confidentiality agreement with Aramco, Pozzi won't describe exactly what happened next, except to say that "there were [then] other mishaps causing other oil to spill."
"The order of magnitude rose exponentially due to the panic level," he says.
The tankers worked for the next six months skimming oil off the water's surface and pumping it into tanks for cleaning. Cleanup efforts went on for several years after that. Still, that such an enormous slick could be successfully cleaned ought to point the way this time around, Pozzi says.
"My guys have worked on a lot of oil spills, and back in the late '80s and early '90s we figured out the best way to clean up oil through lessons learned," he says. "This is what we think they need to do. We know it works."
Or, as King puts it: "We just want them to get off their ass and use multiple solutions to clean this crap."
This was a direct quote. I don't know the person that originally wrote it.
BP ART
THE PICTURES ON TV SHOWS THE OIL FLOWING AND IT'S HARD TO DETERMINE THE EXACT PROBLEM. SUGGEST A SKETCH, DETAILS BE PROVIDED TO TV STATIONS.
DOES THE RISER PIPE EXTEND INTO THE CAPSULE?
HEARD THERE WAS A RUBBER GASKET CONNECTION ??
ADVISE IF YOU CAN
JE
JE,
That's a good idea, if they can provide a detailed sketch publicly perhaps someone can come up with a real fix!
Looks like a good idea.
Now think about this. BP could have stopped the leak on the first day. All they are doing is figuring out ways to get that oil to the surface. They wont stop a leak that can make them billions. They don't want to stop it, they want to save the oil. Obama is in bed with BP and he goes along despite what he says, with BP.
I read somewhere that the problem is that they have to keep the oil flowing from that well or they loose drilling rights. That is why they are trying to keep this well alive until they can drill another then they will completly cap this one.
HUBBERS
PLEASE, ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPPEN AND IT DID.
CHECK THIS OUT think about it, it don't make much sense.
President Barak Obama’s tough remarks on solving off shore drilling legislation needs to start in Washington first.. The government is not the solution but part of the problems to what has happened with the BP accident and oil spill that has created a disaster on the gulf states.
The government's permit approvals needs to consider the safety as to where oil companies are allowed to drill.
BP, prior to the accident was to receive a safety award for their operation performance One must ask a question as to why BP was forced to drill in waters so deep that divers are unable to make repairs if an accident should occur under the water.
Safety factors ( government regulations ) were disregarded in the location of the drilling rig. The drill was drilling in 5,000 feet of water, far deeper than any diver could go, should there be a problem. The accident happened when safety equipment failed causing the disaster. Congress’s repeated failure to allow permits in shallower waters must assume some blame when blame will be established. Divers could have made the necessary repairs in days if they were drilling at shallower depths.
Take Note
1994 Dan Manion sets current record for a deep dive on air at 509 feet (155 m). Manion reports he was almost completely incapacitated by narcosis and has no recollection of time at depth.
In Alaska oil can be drilled for at depths of 100 to 200 feet if Congress would release the permits. Picture the floor of a 2 car garage, drop a quarter on the floor. The size of the quarter is the area in Anwar that can be drilled to provide the oil we need. Obama setting a moratorium to stop oil drilling will cause the loss of 30,000 jobs and cause a gas shortage.Obama and Congress need to reconsider their positions first before any actions are taken. The politicians say '' we must get us off the need for foreign oil '' they lie!
Our government's stupidity and political issues are equally to blame for the catastrophe.
Jon Ewall,
are you saying that SOMEONE might have sabotaged this rig, in an effort to put a stop to drilling, purposely creating a shortage so they can raise the prices?
rvsource
No sabotage , accidents can happen, we may know more after a future investigation.
A safety feature in offshore drilling has been exposed. Our Government ignored safety for Politics.
No dept should be so deep that divers can't resolve a problem quickly.
Obama will be saying on Tues 6/8/10 on a morning show interview '' so I know whose ass I can kick''.
That remark is so low class for a President of the US to make on national TV (more propaganda ).
The real Barak Obama is beginning to show his arrogance, incompetence and inexperience when the issue requires leadership.
Putting a moratorium on offshore or land oil drilling that would cost 45,000 jobs in these troubled time is ludicrous.
Congress needs to Wake up and take control of Government.
I think he (Obama) has lost total control?
Maybe someone has already thought of this... but what if the presure of the oil was used to our advantage..
It would be like putting thread through a needle at a very long distance but what if a blocage was made that was colapsable so it could be pushed into the pipe opening and it would open from the pressure of the oil resulting in a blocage of the pipe. Kind of like that tropical fish with the spines (the kind you dont want to take a pee in the water around as it will swim up and get lodged) if you know what I meen. Well just thought I would throw it out there and hope this may trigger an idea that is out of the box.
Best of luck to all those animals out there.. including us.. as we do share this planet together
I decided to visit your site today. For the record BP has no known viable/realistic alternative but to guide oil flow to surface as it is not possible to completely shut off flow of oil at the sea floor given the current “unstable” state of the well. Thus contrary to what some would have you believe, BP is not trying to make money on this well, it is trying to keep as much of the oil as possible from making it to our shorelines. The members of the ART team continue to be disheartened by comments that suggest anything other than honest and an incredibly focused effort to mitigate additional damage and contain as much of the flow as possible until a permanent solution (relief well) can be completed.
The unstable state I refer to is of the annulus (the borehole) and the cement that holds the casing string in place inside the annulus. If BP completely capped the flow at, below, or above the BOP (Blowout Preventer), extremely high well pressure levels would force oil/gas flow up the outside of the casing to the seabed and thus into the Gulf.
Perhaps it would be easier to understand if you can visualize a straw loosely placed in a hole, except that liquid at the bottom of the hole is not being sucked up the straw but being pushed up due its own pressure. You can cap the straw but the pressurized liquid will simply flow between the outside of the straw and the inside of the hole. Cement is used to stabilize the sides of the hole and block the flow between the outside of the straw and the inside of the hole. In short it is this cement and the inside walls of the hole that are unstable and thus permeable by oil/gas under extreme pressure. The relief well, amongst other things, will essentially add new cement outside of the straw to stabilize the hole and block this path from the flow of the oil. Once complete, BP can permantently shut-off oil flow by essentialy plugging and capping the casing (the straw).
Keep the ideas coming. I will make a point to visit your site and push forward those that appear viable.
Good point Janet, I am sure they are doing what they can in that respect
ART Team
People are very upset with the natural resource quickly going away and not knowing the future of the marine ecosystem or ours for that matter.
It seems the government is not doing what they should be doing. There should be ALL efforts on trying to stop this oil gusher! To me it seems that they are just sitting back waiting for BP to do there part and Obama now trying to figure out WHO to blame.
We need to get PAST the blame part and FIX the problem. Every United States scientist should be at this site. We should STOP the going to the moon, STOP the senseless war in Iraq and take care of our childrens future! It doesn't seem like enough is being done.
Hi, sorry to make light of a difficult situation, and as a Brit I am embarrassed about this .. However, how about putting our England goal keeper, Rob Green in charge of the operation. He is great at stopping leaks!
Hi, now for a more useful comment. I think our government should send whatever help it can, including resource from the armed forces if needed. This affects our standing with you guys no matter what anyone says, if it was the other way round, I am sure parliament would be in uproar, just like President O Bama is now. Rest assured we support you guys and your coast (and the hardworking guys who work there). We love the U.S. Just wish I could come up with a good suggestion, but I am not an engineer.
Hope it gets resolved ASAP.
Andy Carr.
Thanks Andrew
ART TEAM
''We need to get PAST the blame part and FIX the problem.''
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE need for our government to expose the truth as to
the procedures in drilling for oil by oil companies and by the restrictions that
government places on potential oil producing sites. In other words, the
government and the companies jointly have a responsibility to the production
of deep water drilling practices in a safe and efficient way.
Day 56 and the oil leak continues without resolve. On Tues. 6/15/10,
President Obama will speak to the nation and hopefully give an honest
true assessment of the calamity. The people would like answers as to
why the government did not consider help offered from other nations in
the 3 days after the accident. Why did the EPA delay approvals of
corrective actions promptly. Why did the government refuse BP’s offer of
$ millions to form berms dredged from the Mississippi river .
Can someone explain why workers removing oil balls work 2 hours and
then are off 4 hours for full pay ? That procedure was called federal
featherbedding and was against the law to pay people for doing nothing.
If the government is forcing BP to pay for the work in that manner than
the government is breaking the law. The people want honest and fair
government, not government who disregards the laws. A reminder for
all to realize that ‘’ we are a nation of the rule of law. ‘’
To stop the leak start at the bottom... Send a umbrella type object made of 1/4 inch steel down the pipe . when it is lower than the pipe open it up. the preasure of the oil wil push it up against the pipe and block the oil.
Scientists believe there is only two ways to stop the leak, let it empty out, which could take up to 30 years, or nuke it. Russia has already used nuclear weapons to stop four leaks.
I just submitted another idea that I had. I am sure they've already thought of it, but what the heck!
If we had a large tool, like what is used to expand a tail pipe, and inserted it into the opening of the pipe expanding it to plug the pipe from the inside. This would like a large pop rivet.
Isn't this what they already tried? The "tophat" idea? It didn't work, because they can't get a seal on the bottom. The pressure will overwhelm the seafloor, because it isn't bedrock. Its muck, maybe a hundred feet of muck.
Some of the ideas expressed sound good on the face of it, but don't take into account the huge pressures involved.
Others sound silly,ie: build an umbrella like device out of 1/4" steel.
How do you build an umbrella out of steel? Think about it! You can't. If it has hinges, it has weak points. Besides, the actual pipe uses steel inches thick in order to contain the pressure.
Then we have those stating "we have to try everything we can". You realize its possible to make things worse? You can't just jump in willy nilly. You could make things much worse.
Last, Obama is doing everything he can. Is silly to say he has lost control or isn't doing enough. Is he supposed to don his super suit and fix it himself? Is he supposed to pick up all the oil himself? Do you think he doesn't have other issues on his plate?
The time to have plans in place, and ways to fix it was well before the problem happened in the first place. People are making two mistakes, one, believing everything humans screw up can be fixed. Just because we can break something, doesn't mean we can fix it. Two, believing Obama has magical powers.
BTW, I think I may know a method to stop the leak. The problem is, its too late since they cut the pipe and it will no longer work. (probably)
Use very long drills 3/4 inch thick two feet long, only the first four inches are drill bit, the rest is straight shank.
Drill through the centre of the the centre pipe, right across until it is through. Push it in until the working part of the bit is outside the other side of the pipe. Weld it in place, both sides.
Do the same think 90 degrees just below the first. Then another two between those two. Eventually, we will have a series of steel rods intersecting the pipe, very strong because they are welded in place.
BP can then try the garbage pump again, pumping coarse material (large pieces of metal) through the blowout preventer until they get caught up in the steel rods. This will reduce the flow of oil. When the pipe is sufficiently clogged, they can start pumping concrete in.
And yes, there are probably reasons why this won't work, but I don't understand since I'm not an engineer.
Thomas,
Thanks for your comments.
One thing you said is for sure true, "Obama DOESN'T have magical powers.
news "ticker" (Saturday I believe). Goldman Sachs owned about 56% of BP's stock, yet they sold their interest shortly before the whole disaster. There doesn't seem to be much news coverage about THAT.
Ralph Deeds Level 6 Commenter 2 years ago
Works for me.