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View Full Version : Oil spill - Costner to the rescue?



Nomen luni
21st May 2010, 07:00 AM
WDSU.com
May 14, 2010

Actor Kevin Costner Helps Fight Oil Spill
Costner In New Orleans To Promote Oil-Extracting Machine

NEW ORLEANS -- Actor Kevin Costner was in New Orleans on Thursday with a machine that extracts oil from water.

He said he's ready to go to work to help clean up the spill.

The world-famous actor and environmental activist said he's not here to talk the talk. He's here to walk the walk.

"We moved this through a technology that we know works, and it's prepared to go out and solve problems, not talk about them," Costner said.

At a demonstration surrounded by local parish leaders, Costner and his business partners displayed their oil extractor device for the local news media.

The machine works on the principle of centrifugal force. In this case, diesel fuel and water enter the machine together and are jettisoned separately, with water on one side and diesel on the other. The machine will clean the water up to 97 percent, said officials with Ocean Therapy Solutions.

"We're working on the technology now that will get us the other 3 percent so that you can actually drink out of the machine," said OTS official John Houghtaling II.

"I just am really happy that this has come to the light of day," Costner said. "I'm very sad about why it is, but this is why it was developed, and like anything that we all face as a group, we face it together."

Local parish leaders are excited.

"We will be pushing for this to at least get a demonstration out in the open water to put this to a test," said St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro. "If it shows what it shows here on land, then we may have found ourselves another tool for the tool box."

"With these odds and percentages, it only makes sense," said Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nunguesser. "Let's give it a try."

There are five different machines that work from 5 gallons a minute to 200 gallons a minute.

Fifteen years ago, Costner funded a group of scientists headed by his brother to develop such a device. Local partners have been organized to deploy the machine for BP.

More here:

http://www.rexresearch.com/meikrantz/meikrantz.htm

Nomen luni
22nd May 2010, 07:58 AM
Awww, c'mon; the headline alone deserves more interest than this thread is getting. Read it or I'll cry! :'(

SLV^GLD
22nd May 2010, 08:04 AM
200 gallons a minute, eh?

That's consolidated gallons, as in oil mixed with seawater... water that would certainly be recirculated/recontaminated in the process... in other words a significant coefficient to the 200gal/min number.

Now, how many gallons per minute of undiluted oil is being emitted from the leak?

I'm not knocking the device. The abstract is solid although I suspect prior art. I'm just seriously questioning the realistic application of this technology to this scale of a mess.

EE_
22nd May 2010, 08:10 AM
http://snugglenugget.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/yawning.jpg

Spectrism
22nd May 2010, 08:14 AM
200 gallons a minute, eh?

That's consolidated gallons, as in oil mixed with seawater... water that would certainly be recirculated/recontaminated in the process... in other words a significant coefficient to the 200gal/min number.

Now, how many gallons per minute of undiluted oil is being emitted from the leak?

I'm not knocking the device. The abstract is solid although I suspect prior art. I'm just seriously questioning the realistic application of this technology to this scale of a mess.


You are right.

200 gpm in a sea of contaminated water is worthless.

Good ole Kevin Costner will spin the wheel for a few days and come to the stark realization that they are gonna need a bigger boat.

They must process not only the millions of leaked oil, but the trillions of gallons of sea water that are contaminated.

Another problem they will have to face is that the crude oil is not like refined oil. Crude carries solids and is more dense. Using a centrifugal principle relies on density differences. Some parts of that oil will be hard to separate.

EE_
22nd May 2010, 09:19 AM
Kevin is an idiot!
Maybe they didn't tell him the harmful dispersents will make his magical machine usless.

Nomen luni
22nd May 2010, 09:34 AM
The leak is 4 million gallons a day according to the first article I pulled off Google. That's 3000 gallons/minute in round numbers, or 15 of the big units operating 24/7 assuming they are just processing pure oil. Now if BP stop being 'clever' and adding dispersants, I reckon (and I am pulling this number out of my backside for the sake of argument, I admit) you could get most of the oil at an average of 1/4 dilution, so 60 units would be required.

Expensive, yes. A perfect solution, no, but the scale of the thing does not seem insurmountable for this kind of technology to have a substantial positive effect. I agree on the prior art, but who wants to argue in these circumstances.

Anyway... I'm taking my ball and playing somewhere else. EE_ knew just where to press!!!!!! ;D

JUST GIVE KEV A CHANCE!!!!!!!

TPTB
22nd May 2010, 09:44 AM
JUST GIVE KEV A CHANCE!!!!!!!


KEV'S A DOOSH!!!!!!! ;D

mick silver
22nd May 2010, 09:51 AM
kevin been a tree licker for over 20 years

StackerKen
22nd May 2010, 09:52 AM
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/attachments/low-end-theory/107163d1232249390-presonus-fire-studio-anyone-impressed-leave-britney-alone-guy.jpg

Leave Kevin alone!


hehe

i beat book to it

AndreaGail
22nd May 2010, 10:01 AM
if you build it they will come

TPTB
22nd May 2010, 10:22 AM
Now if George Foreman had a come out with this thing I'd be on it like hydrogenated Butter flavored margarine on baked taters. :D