| 摘要 |
Skimmers, barges and related methods recover heavy oil or bitumen from contaminated water environments such as tailings ponds. The skimmer has an articulated mesh-like conveyor driven around a drum by a drive sprocket. A pusher mechanism discharges bitumen or heavy oil from cavities in the conveyor. In one embodiment, the skimmer includes an automatic depth control system. In other embodiments, knife--edged shear plates remove heavy oil or bitumen adhering to the conveyor and drum. A barge may incorporate multiple parallel skimmers. The barge may include a bitumen-transfer pump having an annular fluid-injection flange that generates an annulus of lubricating fluid inside a discharge hose. A method of skimming heavy oil or bitumen involves using a skimmer that automatically adjusts its elevation or depth based on a control signal generated by a depth sensor. Another method recovers and transfers bitumen by lubricating the discharge hose using the annular fluid-injection flange. |
