4.2.2.1 Collection
The plastic debris is caught by the booms, and accumulates
where they converge, in front of the platform. In
this zone, the debris is collected as it floats into a semiprotected
area through large holes. Due to the size range
of the debris, the collection needs to be done in multiple
steps, to ensure that all the debris is picked up and to
prevent clogging. This choice was made in consultation
with Norbert Fraunholz (Fraunholcz, 2014) of Recycling
Avenue.
The first step will catch debris larger than one meter.
The second step will collect medium-sized debris, from
10 mm to 1 meter, and the last step will extract particles
smaller than 10 mm. These values have been selected as
starting boundaries and might need later adjustment to
meet equipment sizes. The proposed solutions will be assessed
for each size range.
Scoops
By using scoops that are made of a mesh material, debris
can be collected from the water. The principle is very
simple and can be found in lots of applications on many
scales, the simplest being a children’s fishing net. Depending
on the size of the scoop related to the material
flow, one scoop or a cascade of scoops might be used.
The cascade would work like a bucket chain excavator.
Advantage S
• Because the scoop also collects the entire body of
water that surrounds the plastic particles, even the
smallest particles are collected without washing away.
• Depending on the size of the scoops, all particle sizes
can be collected from the ocean.
Disad vantages
• These buckets typically displace a lot of water during
the scooping action, which leads to higher energy consumption.
CHAPTER 4.2 CHAPTER 4.2