2012 THE OCEAN CLEANUP PROJECT

FLOATING BARRIER OCEAN CURRENT DRAG NET BOOM

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Boyan Slat

 

Boyan Slat presenting the Ocean Cleanup concept

 


Boyan Slat was born on the 27th of July 1994. He is a Dutch inventor, environmentalist and aerospace engineering student who works on methods of clearing plastic waste from the oceans. He designed a passive system for concentrating and catching plastic debris driven by ocean currents. This won a prize for Best Technical Design at Delft University of Technology and he has established a foundation — The Ocean Cleanup — to further develop and eventually implement the technology.

 

Initially, there was little interest but, since his TED talk, How the Oceans can Clean Themselves, went viral, he has attracted thousands of volunteers and $2M of funding for pilot installations. In 2014, he won the Champions of the Earth award of the United Nations Environment Programme.

 

Slat proposed the cleanup project and supporting system in 2012. In October, Slat outlined the project in the TED-talk. The initial design consisted of long, floating barriers fixed to the seabed, attached to a central platform shaped like a manta ray for stability. The barriers would direct the floating plastic to the central platform, which would remove the plastic from the water. Slat did not specify the dimensions of this system in the talk.

 

 

Boyan Slat's ocean cleanup project

 

This was the original tower and conveyor belt system that was later abandoned.

 

 

The Ocean Cleanup is non-government engineering environmental organization based in Netherlands, that develops technology to extract plastic pollution from the oceans.

The organization conducts scientific research into oceanic plastic pollution. It was founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, a Dutch-born inventor-entrepreneur of Croatian origin who serves as its CEO. It has conducted two expeditions to the North Pacific Gyre, and published scientific papers. The clean-up approach uses barriers in ocean gyres to scoop up marine debris as the barrier is pushed by wind and current.

 

 

 

 

Boyan Slat is not alone in the fight against ocean plastic. These emerging technologies could all play a part in containing the mountain of plastic that is accumulating on the oceans floors, by recovering floating debris before it sinks. New ideas are welcomed.

 

 

 

 

 

PROJECT HISTORY 2012 - 2021

 

2012 - TED Talk

2013 - Company Formation

2014 - Concept Revisions

2015 - Scale Model Tests

2016 - North Sea Trial

2017 - Pipe Size Reduction

2018 - Wilson & Scale Test

2019 - Sea Trials Pacific

2019 - River skimming barges

2020 - The Future

2021 - Qualified success Sept 16 (Reuters)

 

 

OCEAN CLEANUP PROJECTS

 

* Aliance to end Plastic Waste

* Boyan Slat's ocean booms

* 4Ocean recycled plastic bracelets

* Kulo Luna graphic novel

* Ocean Voyages Institute

* Ocean Waste Plastic

* Seabin

* Sea Litter Critters

* SeaVax autonomous drones

* World Oceans Day

 

 

LINKS & REFERENCE

 

https://theoceancleanup.com/

 

 

 

WIND AND WAVES - The floating boom systems are designed to capture plastics ranging from small pieces just millimeters in size, up to large debris, including massive discarded fishing nets (ghost nets), which can be tens of meters wide.

Models show that a full-scale cleanup system roll-out (a fleet of approximately 60 systems) could clean 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in just five years.

After fleets of systems are deployed into every ocean gyre, combined with source reduction, The Ocean Cleanup projects to be able to remove 90% of ocean plastic by 2040.

The system consists of a 600-meter-long floater that sits at the surface of the water and a tapered 3-meter-deep skirt attached below. The boom floater provides buoyancy to the system and prevents plastic from flowing over it, while the skirt stops debris from escaping underneath.

Both the plastic and system are being carried by the currents. However, wind and waves propel only the system, as the floater sits just above the water surface, while the plastic is primarily just beneath it. The system thus moves faster than the plastic, allowing the plastic to be captured.

It's a giant version of fishing nets as used for centuries by fishermen. A secondary net and modified fishing vessels then capture and land the plastic on a vessel where it is transported to land for recycling.

 

 

 

 

 

ABS - BIOMAGNIFICATION - CANCER - CARRIER BAGS - COTTON BUDS - DDT - FISHING NETS

HEAVY METALS - MARINE LITTER - MICROBEADS - MICRO PLASTICS - NYLON - OCEAN GYRES - OCEAN WASTE

 PACKAGING - PCBS - PET - PLASTIC - PLASTICS -  POLYCARBONATE - POLYSTYRENE - POLYPROPYLENE - POLYTHENE - POPS

  PVC - SHOES - SINGLE USE - SOUP - STRAWS - WATER

 

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This website is provided on a free basis as a public information service. copyright © Cleaner Oceans Foundation Ltd (COFL) (Company No: 4674774) 2019. Solar Studios, BN271RF, United Kingdom. COFL is a company without share capital.

 

THE DUTCH OCEAN CLEANUP PROJECT BOYAN SLAT'S FLOATING BOOM SYSTEM