The Different Types of Installation

>The Bubble Curtain is most commonly used to protect harbours, bathing areas, intake works, canals, etc. against oil spills. Performance will be enhanced by judicious positioning of the tubes. The equipment> also has the advantage of being inflammable.

The simplest type of installation consists in a series of perforated tubes, positioned in the narrowest part of a harbour for instance - from which air is discharged vertically at constant speed. This type of system can be combined with specially designed harbour equipment to extract the substance concerned. A variation on this type of design is a constant-speed discharge system sloping diagonally upwards. The top end of this bubble " deflector " can be fitted with a screening recipient to collect the water-borne matter.

In oil terminals more elaborate configurations can be used such as multiple tubes discharging air at different speeds and positioned so as to form a closed loop around the oil tanker. This type of system is used to prevent pollution resulting from leaks or discharges during filling or emptying of tankers, and can be put into operation almost immediately.

The Bubble Curtain can be implemented with only minutes’ notice. The barrier will be positioned according to the direction of the wind, so as to concentrate the current in the area receiving the full force of the wind, where the floating substance will tend to accumulate.