Lockheed Designs Oil Skimmer For Installation In Craft Used In Offshore Cleanup

Lockheed has announced it has completed the design of a boat-mounted recovery device for offshore application.

Capable of recovering spilled oil in 1.5- meter (5-foot) seas and one-knot currents, the skimmer is designed to be fitted into a catamaran or other craft that will supply the rotating and pumping power required.

The new Clean Sweep® device's 2.45-meter (8-foot) diameter will make it the largest of the patented disc skimmers. Although its length is variable, the 4.9-meter (16-foot) device gives a recovery capability of approximately 3,800 liters (1,000 gallons) / minute of spilled oil, according to Henry F. Miller, Lockheed program manager.

While similar to other Clean Sweep recovery devices which have been produced for more than five years, the new skimmer (dubbed the Type 8000) is hollow in its center length and encloses a container filled with closed-cell foam to guarantee buoyancy.

Thus, when horizontally fitted into a support vessel, the recovery drum can respond to the sea surface independently of the roll and pitch of the craft. When the support vessel is in transit, the skimmer drum can be stowed clear of the water surface.

Resembling a paddle wheel on an old riverboat, the Clean Sweep device consists of a series of discs with wiper blades between each one. Vanes along the outer circumference of the discs help to pull the oil and water inside the paddle wheel and hold it there. The revolving discs carry the adhering oil to the wipers, where the oil is scraped into the slotted axle and pumped to storage.

Lockheed Missiles & Space Co., Sunnyvale, Calif., manufactures and sells the Clean Sweep devices through a worldwide network of distributors and representatives. Clean Sweep is now operating on six continents.

For additional information on Clean Sweep, write to Henry F. Miller, Lockheed Missiles & Space Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, P.O. Box 504, Sunnyvale, Calif. 94088.

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