TIE TECHNOLOGIES

Environmental Logistics

Gulf Coast Oil Contamination Protection

Oildam^TM Emergency Containment Proposal

PRIORITY OBJECTIVE: PREVENTION OF OIL CONTAMINATION OF THE SEASHORE

This proposal, REV. 1, provides a more in-depth summary of a viable solution to keep oil from the Gulf Oil Spill away from the shore, contain it and pump it into storage containers for recycling and future use. By using the concept of ‘water- blocking-oil,’ water-filled bladders made of geosynthetic materials, OilDam^TM Geosynthetic Tubes are placed in the shallow waters at distances up to 100 feet from the shore to form a barrier mostly impenetrable to oil from sea floor to several feet above sea level. This fixed barrier blocks oil and floating contaminants, submerged soil and tar balls from reaching the shore. At the same time, it allows water to pass back and forth through its base to maintain normal tidal flushing of the shoreline. This allows critical shoreline life to be protected. No other system that we know of can provide all of these benefits. The system uses manufacturing, fabrication and deployment techniques that have been well developed over the past 40 years.

THIS SOLUTION OFFERS:

• Rapid manufacturing from readily available materials.
• Quick deployment with conventional equipment.
• Quick installation by filling with seawater using standard water pumps.
• A low impact alternative compared to temporary inflated oil-catcher booms, sandbags, plastic nets, or dredged sand barriers.
• High protection to prevent floating oil, submerged oil and tar balls from reaching the shore.
• Adaptable to most seafloor conditions along the gulf coastline.
• A product that is easily removable after the event without environment impact and with potential for redeployment.
• Easy extraction of oil contaminated seawater collected in the vortex of each OilDam^TM ‘V’ configuration, via suction hoses either run from land or directly by sea going vessels with suction pumps. Oil will be collected and recycled.

Our proposal is not only a potential solution to protect much of the Gulf shoreline while reclaiming the valuable oil that threatens it’s ecology but puts in place a balanced team with some of the most experienced and talented firms and people in the world for this type of problem. Deployment can begin immediately.

EXPERTS IN THE FIELD: This team includes experts in the following key areas:

• Management of complex, unusual projects of this type.
• Contract procurement and coordination in emergency conditions.
• Emergency planning and response for potential failure modes, including hurricane conditions.
• Design of geosynthetic composite systems for some of the most challenging uses worldwide.
• Design to anchor and support these systems in all types of sea bottom conditions.
• Fabrication of large geosynthetic composite systems to work in tough marine environments and deployment of those systems.
• Quality control methods to produce products that meet quality standards.
• Real-time remote performance monitoring systems to improve system reliability.

EXISTING GEO-CONTAINMENT TECHNOLOGY

Similar geo-containment technology used in the design and construction of the OilDam^TM structures was originally developed by a team member working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They have since been used in protecting shorelines, rebuilding beaches, and reclaiming land from the sea as well as keeping water outside of protected areas. The technology has been proven as an effective water barrier in applications around the world and is installed in more than 50 countries.

The OilDam^TM structures are fabricated from a high-strength, specially engineered textile with special high-strength seaming techniques to provide a strong outer enclosure. Inside this tube is a thin stretchable membrane made of plastic a material that holds water under pressure. A complete unit consists of the inner flexible watertight tube surround by a strong flexible outer tube. The outer tube carries the forces and the inner tube keeps the water from leaking out. Tube are laid end and connected together in a manner that prevents oil flow between the ends of two tubes. A piping connection is added at one end to fill the inner tube with water. The final inner tube must have a water level higher than the expected external water level to give sufficient weight to hold the tubes in place and to keep oil from sloshing over the top during larger waves.

A unique component of the OilDam^TM concept is the ability to collect and remove oil for subsequent recycling. Other systems diffuse, deflect or adsorb oil but do not effectively remove much oil if any. This leaves the oil to float at sea until it eventually engages enough solid materials to cause it to sink to the seafloor where it can enter the food channel.

STANDARD CONFIGURATION

The standard configuration consists of a single bladder inside an outer tube made of high strength geotextiles. The bladder is filled with seawater until its top reaches the desired elevation. Water inside the tube above the water level outside the tube provides the ballast to hold the system in place. Sand can be pumped into the bladder to provide additional ballast if required to resist stronger waves. Normally such tubes are placed directly on the sea floor to provide complete barriers to water. This can create differences in water levels on the two sides that tend to push the tube away from the side with the highest water level. This increases the forces that the tube system must resist. Used in a shoreline application, at high tide the water level on the seaside would be higher than the water level on the shore side. This also closes off flow to the shore side, which can negatively impact the shoreline ecosystem. The OilDam^(TM) system overcomes this problem by placing a pervious geosynthetic composite between the seafloor and the bottom of the tube. This material has an inner core that is open enough to permit water to flow back and forth to maintain the inside and outside tide levels with inches of each other. It has geotextile materials on its top and bottom to keep fine soils from entering the geocomposite and plugging it and to also prevent erosion of the foundation for the tubes. This feature, unique to OilDam^(TM), provides a superior means to keep oil out and maintain tidal flushing at the shoreline.

Geosynthetic materials are made of high performance plastics that resist degradation from sunlight, weather, chemicals and long-term exposure. They are nonvolatile and cause no harm to any life forms.

VARIATIONS TO ADAPT TO SPECIFIC LOCAL CONDITIONS.

The illustrated standard version can be changed in height and width to adjust to sea depth and wave height. Its weight can be increased by adding sand inside the ballast. Where larger heights are required, such as to resist higher waves, two inner bladders can be used to provide more resistance against rolling. Additional rolling resistance can also be provided with anchors on the seaside.

Another option is to use the standard design but add ballast tubes along each side of the main tube. The system is deployed and the outer tubes are filled with sand. This drags the system to the seafloor as water is pumped into the inner tube. This system may be used where there is a need to place the system on the sea floor but not deploy it until it is needed. This might be the case at a resort area where visitors wish to enjoy the open sea until the protection is required.

Which configuration is used depends on the specific local conditions. Factors that affect the design include water depths at mean sea level, magnitude of tide change, size of waves to be designed for stability, design requirements for storm conditions, seafloor conditions such as soil type, soil strength and presence of sharp objects that could puncture the system, and whether the system is to be deployed in full at the start or left uninflated until the need arises.

Each bladder is filled with a high capacity pump that fills the bladder through an injection port. For immediate deployment the pumps are moved along the deployment line. For deployment when needed the pumps must be installed in a semi permanent mode where they can be activated to fill the bladders when required. A relief port is located at the opposite end of the bladder to bleed off air during filling.

For a complete white paper on the OilDam^TM or a demo, click here, call or contact us.