Researchers of the TSU Institute of Biology have invented technology of subglacial treatment of ponds contaminated with oil. The new technique is recognized as optimal for lake ecosystems, because in winter, in the absence of vegetation processes, intervention in the underwater world is minimal.
- In spring and summer there is active reproduction of fish and aquatic organisms, so it would be preferable to carry out cleaning work in the cold season, - says Danil Vorobyev, Director of the TSU Institute of Biology. - It is necessary to take into account the fact that many contaminated lakes are located in remote places, and to get there and remove oil raised from the bottom is possible only with winter roads. For such reservoirs the ice cleaning method is the only option.
Until now Russia has had no low-cost technologies that allow effectively cleaning the frozen lakes of oil. The method proposed by scientists of the Institute of Biology excludes the use of any drugs and is based only on the laws of physics. Guide channels that converge near the oil gathering wells are covered by the ice of the lake. A perforated heavy hose sinks to the bottom and a special device controls its movement. In the location of oil accumulations a stream of air is fed at manometric pressure, and as a result the oil rises to the surface. According to the guide channels in the ice, the oil goes to the receiving window of a crude oil collar above which is installed a mobile hangar. The hangar creates a favorable temperature with heat guns and the oil is pumped out . This allows cleaning water of oil at any temperature, even at -50C °.
This method allows cleaning not only the bottom sediments, but the entire thickness of water. The technology developed at the Institute of Biology is best suited for lakes with thick sediments: stony, clay, or sandy bottom. There is no limit to the depth of the pond for using the new technique. The Biological Institute has already received a patent for this invention.