Apparatus for Continuously Collecting Viscous Material

Abstract

A reclamation system and method using at least one, and in some cases several, buoyant cylinders for removing viscous material, e.g., oil and oil-based products, from a body of water is disclosed. The system and method use the natural tendency of such material to adhere to a surface as it is rotated through the body of water and then actively remove the material for transfer into a collection receptacle. Numerous cylinders can be aligned side-by-side and configured to contain as well as remove viscous material along the surface of a body of water.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the filing priority of provisional Application No. 61/443,004, titled “Apparatus For Continuously Collecting Viscous Material” and filed on Feb. 15, 2011. The '004 application is also incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to skimming and collecting viscous material, such as oil, from the surface of a body of water, such as a river, stream, lake or ocean, and from a land surface, such as a beach, riverbed, shoreline, or the like, as a result of leaks, spills, blow outs, ship wrecks, terrorism, and the like. Particularly, the invention relates to a system and methods for removing such viscous material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Skimmers are commonly used to reclaim oil from the surface of water and to separate it from the water. When an oil spill occurs, the oil thins out on the surface of the water. The thin layer of oil is difficult to collect and contaminates the water, thus sealing off the surface.

The oil spread is not limited to the water. Animals that live in the water often are killed by the lack of oxygen and from accidental ingestion of the oil. Birds that land in the water become oil soaked and often cannot fly, making them easy prey or killing them off as a result of suffocation and increased body heat trapped by the oil.

Further, land surfaces abutting oil-contaminated bodies of water can also become covered in thick, concentrated globs of viscous material. Miles and miles of shoreline are contaminated every year by oil washing up and attaching to plants, animals, structures, and the ground itself.

Some existing inventions use disks, drums, brushes and belts to collect the oil and a wiper/scraper(s) separate the oil from the water. In the process, crews may employ the use of dikes, booms and channels to surround and contain the oil in a body of still water while it is being skimmed from the surface. They may use one ship to contain the oil in booms and another to maneuver around the outside of the booms to operate the skimmers to clean up the oil. The time involved in having to surround the oil and the use of multiple ships to collect and skim the oil, often make the process lengthy, costly and very inefficient. Oil which escapes these efforts can spread and break apart and contaminate beaches as well as other bodies of water. Once the oil has broken apart it is more difficult and more costly to surround and contain. The damage from the delay is often catastrophic to the environment because of the oil that escapes and is not collected before it reaches land.

Skimmers, while high in volume are typically small in width. Skimmers are typically less than four feet in width and require oil to be contained in still water utilizing oil dikes and booms while the skimmer is used to clean the trapped oil from the water surface. None of these prior art skimmers is capable of collecting oil (or oil residue and byproducts) after it reaches land.

In some applications, the use of harsh chemical dispersants are used to break up the oil to limit damage to beaches and fragile ecological systems. Due to the thick consistency of crude oil these dispersants have to be very powerful and can often be considered only the lesser of the two problems.

Controlled burns are also used to surround the oil and to burn it from the water surface, but the resulting smoke from the burning oil is hazardous to animals, men and the environment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a quick-response, high-volume skimmer that could help reduce the impact of future open water oil spills. Further, a method for the continuous collection of oil from a surface, including land and water, is also disclosed.

A preferred method is embodied to include a skimming process that uses one or more buoyant floating cylinders (or drums) to roll across the surface of a body of water and lift viscous material, such as oil, from the water. The method may also utilize an adjustable or floating return plate to direct the oil from the cylinder surface on the upward motion side of the drum, to a gravity fed collection receptacle. Vacuum may be applied to the receptacle to aid the speed at which the oil flows. From the collection receptacle the oil can be pumped into a larger vessel or tank which can be towed by the propelling vessel of the cylinder.

Another embodiment for use in cleaning and collecting material from land areas is also advantageous. An integral water cannon may be used to project clean water onto an adjacent surface behind a contaminated area to allow the viscous residue to wash into the water where it can be collected by the rotating cylinders.

In one process, a propulsion source preferably propels the rotating cylinder(s) forward across the, e.g., oil spread. It funnels and/or directs the viscous material to a long (preferably in the range of from about four (4) feet to about 20 feet), large diameter (preferably in the range of from about two (2) feet to about five (5) feet), floating (a single drum is totally buoyant without any need for frames) and rotating cylinder (hereafter referred to as either a “cylinder” or a “drum”). The cylinder can have substrates attached to a surface such as carpet fibers, paints or textures that make the surface more conducive to adhesion by a viscous material. The surface speed of the cylinder is rotated at or above the speed of the travel of the vessel or apparatus that propels the apparatus across the surface of the body of water.

The drums are rotated in the direction and at a speed so as to provide that it is rolled over the top of the viscous material. As the drums roll across the surface of the material, both the material and water attach to the floating drums' surface. As the drums rotate they contact the material first, and both water and viscous material are lifted from the surface. Oil and other viscous materials are stickier and thicker in consistency than water and adhere to the drum surface. The water being thinner in consistency runs off the drums and back into the body of water.

In an embodiment of the present invention, as the cylinders or drums continue to rotate and the material is rotated, a wiper near the top of each drum cleans the collected oil from the drum surface. The wiper can be aided by applying a vacuum to the wiper area. The viscous material may gravity flow to a receptacle or directly to a floating storage area. The storage area can be a tank, trough, bag or pan that can be attached and detached from a drum and or the apparatus propelling the floating drums allowing for a quick change out and resumed operation. The detachable storage can have a capacity from as few as about five (5) gallons to as large as 50 barrels or more and may be loaded onto a barge, into a ship or the oil may be pumped or suctioned into to a larger vessel using existing technology for pumping a crude oil/water mixture. Oil could be continuously pumped using existing technology directly from the storage area to another location such as a tank, tanker or other suitable vessel.

It is an aspect of the current invention that because the drums are of a large diameter (preferably from about two feet to about five feet or larger), the rpm of the drums can be less while still collecting higher volumes of viscous material. A lower rpm allows for higher oil to water ratio of the collected liquid.

It is another aspect of the invention that a larger diameter drum can be rotated faster thereby collecting a higher rate of oil while still allowing equal time for water to separate from the viscous material, compared to smaller skimmers, and return to the body of water.

It is another aspect of the current invention that a wider area of material can be collected in a continuous sweep due to the length of the cylinders. Existing technology such as floating booms or mechanical guides could be used to create a funnel effect and increase the area covered by a single continuous sweep.

It is another aspect of the invention that buoyancy can be achieved to permit the drums to float at or near the designed depth for a more efficient operation. Because the drums stay closer to the designed operation level, the collection of oil to water ratio while covering a wider area in rougher seas may be improved as compared to some present skimmers. The drums are able to float independently of the apparatus used to collect, contain, propel or transfer the oil.

It is another aspect of this invention that the length of the drums could be longer than the width of the propelling vessel. The drums can be operated in areas where width are close to the length of the drums with little wake and disturbance to the floating oil and or plant or wildlife in near proximity to the rotating drum. The propelling vessel could be designed independent or as a part of the skimmer and designed to float in shallow water (about six inches or less) and could be small enough to operate in swamps and marshes, bayous as well as on the open sea.

It is another aspect of the disclosed invention that the combination of one or multiples of the invention can be coupled together or operated safely side by side and can skim a body of water a continuous motion. Thus, by starting on the outer edges of a material spill, the spread of the material over the surface of the water can be contained as it is skimmed with minimal breakup due to wakes created by the propelling vessels.

A second part of this invention is the use of a wave-deflector and separate containment plates which make the system capable of continuous motion without an appreciable loss in effectiveness. While many skimmers rely on containment booms to control material spread, these devices are only effective in calm waters. Containment booms are an option for use with the present system, the wave-deflector and containment plates prevent a majority of viscous material from being left behind. The deflector and plates extend both deep into the water below the oil and above the water to cover the drums. This protection helps keep the propelling vessel operating in clean water.

Still another possible component of the system is the adjustable or floating return plate that may be used to allow the viscous material to pass under and then back over as the material is cleaned from the drum surface. This adjustable return plate acts as a door to close when there is no oil to float the plate open and to open when oil is present. It allows the oil to pass under it to the wiper and to flow back over the top of the return plate to flow to the collection receptacle. The flow can be increased and aided by the use of vacuum in the wiper and/or collection area.

These and other features of the invention can be more readily appreciated and understood from a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to better describe and understand the numerous embodiments and features of the present inventive system and method, a number of drawing figures are appended hereto in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevated side view of one general embodiment of the described skimming system;

FIG. 2 is a top view illustrating a possible configuration for a dual unit including a path for recovered oil;

FIG. 3 is a top view of an embodiment of a single skimmer made in accordance with the following disclosure in use for cleaning and recovering oil from a land mass;

FIG. 4 is a top view illustrating the flow of material into the V-shaped collection skimmers;

FIG. 5 is a front view showing an “open mouth” design of a preferred configuration;

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a present skimming system working in coordination with, e.g., an oil barge or tanker ship to collect recovered oil;

FIG. 7 is a top view of a set of four skimmers side-by-side being pushed ahead of a tanker barge;

FIG. 8 illustrates a theoretical use of 48 skimmers made in accordance with the following disclosure surrounding a leaking well-site;

FIG. 9 is a side view of an embodiment of an operating drum using a return plate to separate oil and water;

FIG. 10 is a top view of one possible configuration of the batwing embodiment, showing it folded for transport and/or use in a flowing body of water.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

While this invention is susceptible of embodiments of many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and described in detail a preferred embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspects of the invention to the embodiments illustrated. Particularly, while the following description refers exclusively to the removal and collection of “oil” from water surface, the invention is more generally applicable to the removal and collection of viscous materials, including oil. Further, while the present invention is for the collecting of viscous material from a body of water other uses may be capable and adaptation for implementation of the system to these processes, such as removing and collecting oils from the surface of sands and other land masses may be capable as well.

Generally speaking, embodiments of a reclamation system and related methods for the collection of oil from a surface, including land and a body of water, such as a river, stream, lake, sea or ocean, are described. The system is referenced in the appended drawings by the numeral “10” and components of the system 10 are similarly and consistently numbered throughout the specification and drawings.

With reference to appended FIGS. 1-3, system 10 comprises at least one floating rotating cylinder or drum 12 which is propelled and rotated in a direction by a source 32, such as a boat, to roll over the surface of a body of water and recover contaminates, such as oil. The cylinder 12 rotates and picks up oil by allowing it to adhere to the cylinder surface 14. The oil is then removed from the surface 14 and diverted to a storage receptacle 24.

The oil that adheres to cylinder 12 is routed to a wiping device 16 and it may include a hinged return plate 18 (FIG. 3) to prevent oil from returning to the water. If used, the adjustable return plate 18 floats on a layer of adhered oil in an open position to accept the flow of oil being moved to the wiping device 16, which may include edge wipers 22. The wiping devices 16 and 22 clean the cylinder 12 and force the removed oil to flow over the top of the return plate 18. Gravity or vacuum assisted flow back may be used to pull the removed oil into a floating storage receptacle 24. Applicants believe the return plate 18 works better when used to collect thinner layers of material.

The floating drum 12 is rotated and propelled toward and through the oil at a speed that nearly matches or is slower than the surface feet per minute rotation of the drum 12. The speed of the drum is preferably between 10 and 1000 rpm and is moved at a speed that targets both the maximum oil collection and the best oil to water ratio of the collected fluids.

The rotating drum 12 may be driven by a hand crank, a power unit, an engine, a belt system, a chain system, a hydraulic motor, a water pump or off the surface of the water itself, in the case of either a moving body of water or as the floating drum 12 is moved across the water.

Additionally, the rotating cylinder 12 could be prevented from rotating unless the water is moving or the drum 12 is moving across the body of water. The sensing of motion by the water in relation of the drum could be achieved by any number of flow sensors (not shown) and could stop the rotation eliminating wear and tear and the collection of excess water.

Typically the rotating cylinder 12 will be used in a tandem configuration but the number of cylinders 12 used may be within a preferred range of one to as many as fifteen (the preferred two cylinder configuration is shown in the top view FIG. 2) attached in a row and powered by a vessel (not shown) for broad sweep collection. In contrast to any prior designs, the rotating drum 12 in this invention is substantiality larger and longer (i.e., greater surface area). The longer and larger (i.e., greater diameter) drum rotates slower, allowing more water to separate from the oil as it rotates.

Furthermore, prior devices may place bearings in or near the water surface and this can cause premature failure of the bearings especially in a salt water environment. The use of a larger drum elevates the bearing from the water and allows for longer life of the bearing.

Still another benefit of the floating cylinder 12 is that the buoyancy helps support the cylinder's weight and more (e.g., a frame and a storage receptacle) while positioned in the water. It also would require less hoisting equipment to maneuver and maintain a position in the water while floating.

As a safety measure, because the invention is capable of being self-propelled, the rotation of the drum may stop when an operator raises off the seat of a self-propelled unit, as illustrated in FIG. 1. On units driven by a vessel, e.g., a boat, rotation can be stopped when the unit stops moving.

Unlike the embodiments of FIGS. 1-3, which have the cylinder 12 positioned perpendicular to the direction of travel, embodiments of FIGS. 4-9 position the cylinders 12 at an acute angle relative to the direction of travel. With reference to the embodiment of FIG. 4, the system 10 is preferably comprised of four large corrugated drums 12. The drums 12 are preferably placed at an angle in the range of from about 30 degrees to about 75 degrees relative to the direction of travel.

Further, the slant of adjacent cylinders 12 is alternated to form V-shapes rather than being parallel to one another—i.e., an angle between adjacent cylinders is preferably in the range of about 60 to 150 degrees relative to one another. This configuration, referred to as a “batwing,” allows the drums 12 to be more easily pushed from behind, which allows the boat propelling the system 10 to operate in oil free water. Operating the boat in clean water reduces the decontamination needs of the boat and helps minimize the mixing of oil and water done by the propulsion of the vessel through the water.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the proposed batwing skimmer. The theory of operation is as follows.

Two 66″ diameter floating drums 12 act as the skimming device as well as providing the buoyancy of the system 10. There is a frame that provides the backbone for the system. On a top layer above the skimmer reside the pump and power unit for the system.

The drums 12 are positioned in V-arrangements to allow more oil to be directed to the collecting surface 14 of the drums 12. Oil diverters 26 (possibly boom material that stretch a much wider span) act as a funnel to force the oil into the V-areas. The oil would pass into the V-areas and under the vacuum tank to contact the clean cylinder surface. Each cylinder 12 rotates the oil down under the roller and up to the top backside of the cylinder 12 where it is removed by the gravity/vacuum into the receptacle 24.

The oil flows (aided by the vacuum) to the pumping location. At the pumping location the oil is lifted by the high volume pumps (one or more on each tank) and transferred to the storage device.

As best shown in FIG. 3, the use of a wave deflector and containment plate 28 keeps the oil contained in the perimeter of the system 10 and makes the rapid propelling of the skimmer possible while minimizing the amount of oil left behind. The deflector/plate 28 is a scoop-like component which extends the length of a cylinder 12 and operates below and above the water surface. By spacing the deflector/plate 28 a distance from the cylinder below the water surface, the plate 28 assures oil-laden water is not passing below the system 10. Further, extending the deflector 28 above the water surface on the backside of the cylinder 12 prevents waves from washing oil from the cylinder 12 as it is rotated out of the water to the wiping device 16.

The preferred drums 12 are about 66 inches (167.6 cm) in diameter and about 20 feet (6.1 meters) in length. Of course, other lengths and sizes would be suitable for many applications. The drums 12 preferably operate in pairs to transfer the oil to a common vacuum tank for each pair of cylinders 12—e.g., four cylinders 12, two vacuum tanks. Each of the vacuum tanks preferably has one or more pumps to remove the oil from the storage receptacle(s) 24 and transfer it to a larger storage tank, such as a tanker ship as shown in FIG. 6.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the use of a power unit 20 to operate the rotating drums 12. The power unit 20 may also be used to propel the system 10 in a self-propelled embodiment. The unit 20 may contain right and left hydraulic axles attached to propellers or paddles 30 (FIG. 1) for propelling and steering the vessel. The power unit 20 can have an independent switchable drive to stop and start the rotating drum 12. The power unit 20 can be mounted on top of a frame or on top of pontoons 34, for example, to increase the stability of the unit.

FIG. 10 illustrates still another configuration for the batwing embodiment of FIG. 4. By hinging the two rotating cylinders 12 properly, the V-shaped design can be completely closed bringing the cylinders 12 into a parallel relationship. This configuration allows the system 10 to be quickly transported to a contamination site. Further, as illustrated, the configuration can be used in flowing waterways, such as rivers, creeks and streams. Using booms attached to the oil diverters 26, the surface flow is directed into an area where the parallel cylinders 12 are positioned. Operation of the cylinders 12 removes the surface oil being channeled into the system, while the containment plate 28 prevents oil from passing below the system 10.

To be economical, some operating targets are used as design guidelines. For example, as the size and speed of a system will vary with the scope of the clean-up required, some of the factors for consideration in customizing a system include:

• • 1) Recovery Rate (RR)—i.e., the amount of material collected by the system in a period of time (also, ORR for “oil recovery rate” measured in gallons per minute (gpm)). A goal of about 2500 gpm is desired for most systems;
  • 2) Recovery Efficiency (RE)—i.e., this is a measure of the system's ability to separate the viscous material from the water (also referred to as ORE for “oil recovery efficiency”) and return clean water to the source. A goal of at least 70% RE is desired for most systems;
  • 3) The ability to operate in rough water; and
  • 4) A material and construction cost low enough for the system to be economically feasible.

Other factors and variations of the above-factors may also play a role in the design of an economical system.

Applicants contend that the above-factors can best be met in a manner as described below. Unless otherwise indicated, the numbers below are theoretical and may have been derived based on extrapolation of data compiled in smaller model trials. Most of the numbers are expressed to provide guidance and target values as systems can vary greatly in size and performance. None of the numbers are intended to specifically limit any of the disclosed embodiments.

Target No. 1: ORR of at Least 2500 GPM

The diameter, length and quantity of the skimming drums are determined by the ORR target. For a 2500 gpm target, between 2 and 4 drums would be required.

Current design drum skimmers tout rates of 100 gpm for existing units. The present design has up to 3300 times the surface area of drums used on current models. Based on tests performed using smaller models, four larger drums should be able to remove up to 3300 gpm in a one inch (2.54 cm) thick heavy crude application.

Because of a deep corrugation of the proposed design, the exposed surface area of the drum is actually doubled as compared to a smooth drum. This increases the area and should result in even higher ORR.

Vacuum pressure can be used to both help clean the drum for better oil adhesion and for assisting the transfer of the crude to a pumping area. With the use of a vacuum, it is believed that a very high ORR can be achieved.

Further, as a result of the large diameter of the proposed design, it is believed that the drums can be rotated at a faster rate (possibly above 80 RPM) and still provide for the oil and water to separate effectively. The rate increase would allow even higher ORR than estimated. For example, if four 66″ OD×20′ long drums collect a 1/16″ layer of oil from water at a speed of 60 rpm, the proposed design has the potential to skim 3300 gpm. At a rate of 80 rpm the potential jumps to about 4400 gpm. However, the current design is limited by a 3800 gpm pumping capacity of the transfer pumps. Other designs need not be so limited.

Also, as shown in FIG. 8, the use of multiple units increases the overall ORR of the system 10. If each of the illustrated 48 units could collect 1650 gpm, then those 48 units could conceivably collect 1800 barrels of material a minute, which translates to more than 2.5 million barrels per day for continuous operation. For comparison purposes, the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill (aka, the BP Oil spill) was estimated to have pumped between 4 to 5 million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf waters and took over two months to clean up once the underwater well was finally capped. The negative environmental impact of the dispersed and unrecovered oil from that spill is still being felt today.

Target No. 2: ORE of at Least 70%

The drum skimmer is one of the most efficient (highest ORE) designs on the market. Because the oil adheres to the drum and is actually lifted from the water, the water being thinner in consistency and heavier than the oil separates from the oil on the way up and runs back into the body of water. In the described design the larger diameter rollers will actually allow the drum to rotate faster and still have ample time for the water to separate and return to the ocean. Tests suggest a large drum design could easily yield 90% and above ORE.

The ORE in an actual spill could be higher than the current designs because it would use vacuum to assist the gravity flow of oil away from the skimming drums. That is, because the vacuum can be turned off and the drums can continue to rotate, they can continue collecting oil on the drums until a high saturation of oil is on the drum. This could result in high ORR even in thin layers of oil.

Possibly even some of the sheen of oil may be collected with the proposed design. Leaving the drum saturated allows the thinner, sporadic droplets of oil to attach to oil already attached to the drum. The drums could rotate indefinitely picking up very small droplets of oil until the drum is saturated with oil. Then the wiper and or vacuum could be applied for one revolution and the drum cleaned before starting the process again.

Part of the plan and the theory of any skimming operation at sea must include a way to store the oil as it is being collected. One method is to surround the oil with booms to be able to bring it to the skimmer. The proposed skimmer could certainly be used in this fashion.

Target No. 3: Ability to Operate in Rough Water

Consideration has been given to the proposed design to allow for operation in rougher seas. Use of 66″×20′ (16.7 meters×61 meters) drums will average themselves in the waves. Because the foot print is large the size of a given wave will have less effect on the sea worthiness of the skimmer. The triangular design of the proposed design (see FIG. 4) should allow the unit to be very fluid on the water, tilting in all directions akin to the way a three-legged chair sits solid on an uneven floor.

As described above, there has also been included in the design wave deflectors 28 as a preventative measure to keep larger waves from washing the oil off the skimmer drums when the skimmer is being propelled in a direction parallel to the wave flow.

As the proposed design preferably uses vacuum and gravity to clean the drum 12, the source of cleaning the drum can be very near the top of the roller and, thereby, allow for operation in higher waves. Further, because the drums 12 are large in diameter, the whole skimmer sits much taller in the water than do existing drum skimmers or weir skimmers. This higher standing should allow operation in rougher waters.

The proposed design has a minimized risk in extremely rough seas. The proposed system 10 has a unique buoyancy feature such that even if the waves were to reach over the top of the drums, there is no real danger in sinking the vessel. If the vessel were to capsize, it would not be catastrophic because it would remain buoyant and afloat. It is by no means implied that oil collection should be attempted in any such conditions, but being sea worthy in rougher seas would allow the vessel to remain at work in the face of on-coming storms.

Another method of the present system involves propelling the cylinders 12 through the oil. Especially in attempting to collect high rates, it would likely make for a quicker response to go to the oil. The batwing skimmer design could be configured or designed for multiple units to be operated side-by-side, making it possible to increase the collection rate to a point the vehicle collecting the oil could travel at maximum speed.

Target No. 4: Keeping System Economically Feasible

In order to keep cost low, the proposed system is made from currently available materials and uses existing pump designs for the preferred methods of operation. The frame is preferably made of mild steel, the drums are ABS plastic or fiberglass, the pumps can be rotary lobe, screw-type, piston or centrifugal pumps, and the vacuum may be generated by using positive displacement pumps. All components can be driven by hydraulics or by sealed, explosion-proof motors. Ideally, the propelling vessel could provide power for the skimming operation.

Another benefit or option that helps the feasibility of usage would be to allow the skimmer to be propelled by a tug or maybe even by fishing vessels. With the use of floating hoses and tanks the skimmer could be used with almost any ship on short notice.

Because the skimmer is self-contained for material collection and transfer, a flat barge with tanks sitting on it could be used as a storage device.

As shown in FIG. 9, the system 10 is not limited to cleaning bodies of water. By equipping the system 10 with a water cannon 40 or similar device, viscous material could be washed from a land mass and then collected from the water. Preferably, the water is pulled from a clean area of the water source and then pulsed into or beyond the contaminated area of land. The continuous flow of water will wash viscous material into the water where it can be collected by the present system.

Claims

1. A method for continuously collecting viscous material from the surface of a body of water, the method comprising the steps of:

providing at least one buoyant cylinder having a surface area;

propelling the at least one cylinder across a surface of a contaminated body of water at a speed;

rotating the at least one cylinder in the direction of movement at a rate at least equal to the speed at which the at least one cylinder is being propelled;

allowing viscous material to adhere to the surface of the at least one rotating cylinder;

removing the viscous material from the at least one cylinder surface after it has separated from the water; and

collecting the viscous material in a storage receptacle.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of removing viscous material comprises the step of wiping the at least one cylinder surface with a wiping device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage receptacle is removable.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising a return plate in communication with each cylinder to prevent removed material from returning to the water.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising the steps of allowing the removed material to flow into the storage receptacle after passing the return plate, wherein the receptacle has a valve, a seal and a check valve between the return plate and the storage receptacle.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the step of continuously pumping viscous material from the storage receptacle.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the storage receptacle is attached to the rotating cylinder.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the return plate adjusts to allow viscous material adhered to the cylinder to pass under and viscous material removed from the cylinder to pass over and into the storage receptacle.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of channeling contaminated water toward the rotating cylinder.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the buoyant cylinder is propelled by a human-operated machine.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the buoyant cylinder is propelled by a human-powered machine.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the buoyant cylinder is self-propelled.

13. The method claim 1, further comprising of the step of utilizing a wave shield to protect the cylinder from being splashed by waves allowing use in rougher seas.

14. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of spraying a dispersant onto the water behind the cylinder.

15. A system for collecting viscous material from a surface of water, the system comprising:

at least one buoyant cylinder having a surface area;

a propulsion source for moving the cylinder in a direction across the surface of a body of water at a given speed;

an axis passing longitudinally through the cylinder to allow rotation of the cylinder in the direction of movement at a rate at least equal to the speed at which the cylinder is being moved;

a wiping device for removing viscous material from the surface of the cylinder; and

a storage receptacle for collecting the removed viscous material.

16. The system for collecting viscous material as described in claim 14, wherein the propulsion source comprises a human-operated vehicle.

17. The system for collecting viscous material as described in claim 14, wherein the propulsion source comprises a human-powered vehicle.

18. The system for collecting viscous material as described in claim 14, wherein the propulsion source comprises a self-propelled vehicle.

19. The system for collecting viscous material as described in claim 14, further comprising a vacuum pump for continuously transferring viscous material from the storage receptacle to a primary storage tank.

20. The system for collecting viscous material as described in claim 14, further comprising a wave deflector positioned for shielding the cylinder from waves.

21. The system for collecting viscous material as described in claim 14, further comprising a containment plate positioned proximate the cylinder to prevent material from escaping past the system.

22. The system for collecting viscous material as described in claim 14, wherein a plurality of buoyant cylinders are arranged to collect viscous material.

23. The system for collecting viscous material as described in claim 14, further comprising a discharge nozzle and water pump connected to the nozzle, wherein water is pumped through the nozzle toward a land mass.

24. The system for collecting viscous material as described in claim 14, wherein two cylinders are used.

25. The system for collecting viscous material as described in claim 24, wherein the two cylinders are positioned to form an angle.

26. The system for collecting viscous material as described in claim 25, wherein the angle is in the range of from about 70 to about 150 degrees.

27. The system for collecting viscous material as described in claim 24, wherein the two cylinders are parallel to one another.