CHAPTER 1.1
Figure 4. 1 First level scheme of The Ocean Cleanup’s process
Figure 4. 2 Functions of the process
4.2.1 System requirements
To be able to generate and assess different solutions
for collection and processing, system requirements are
needed. These are based on the functional requirements
and prerequisites.
4.2.1.1 Functional requirements
The goal of The Ocean Cleanup is to remove floating plastic
contaminants from the world’s oceans. The operation
can be described as a process to move from a current
state to a desired state. The current state is that plastic
debris is floating within the gyres. At the end of the
process, the plastic should be at its destination, which
is probably a processing plant. The process is schematically
shown in Figure 4.1. Although the cycle is not completed
until the plastic is processed, this last step is not
considered in this section, since it will probably be performed
at established industries. It is therefore not a step
in the design process.
Plastic
Extraction
from Seawater
The booms accumulate plastic in front of the
platform where it can be extracted. In this subchapter,
the method of extraction and processing
is selected based on functional requirements
and prerequisites. After that, concepts
are assessed to determine the optimum solutions.
These optimal concepts are then finalized
and conclusions are drawn.