I think these alternative methods will now be considered more seriously. Otherwise it is going to be a disaster in slow motion. Not good for birds and animals, or Politicians either.
Here's my idea. Lower a thermally insulated container full of molten metal. Pour the molten metal into the leaking pipe. Would that work do you think? Molten stuff definitely flows under water. I've seen underwater volcanoes with magma flowing.
This straw idea is one of the stupidest shit I ever heard. The molten metal doesn't work because it doesn't stay liquid during traveling in the pipe but would harden up before it would reach the destination, the top of the well.
I'm not suggesting it goes down to the well in a pipe, but in a container. The container is highly insulated so that the metal remains molten. Once above the pipe the bottom of the container is opened so that the molten metal spills into the pipe, where it solidifies. Couldn't a ladle car like one of those used for transporting molten iron be adapted? A boat crane could lift it easily. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! A few hundred tonnes of molten iron would work better than golf balls.
No-one's said the idea is unworkable yet. I wouldn't want BP taking control of it either. They'd want three months just to redesign the ladle car, and another month to find a method of lowering a chain. No, these are the boys for the job. They'd rig it all up in a weekend. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Winners of Scrapheap Challenge (Junkyard Wars)
The moment you open the bottom of the container and the metal touches water, it starts to solidify. Probably there is a burst of energy because of the gas created that might throw the metal away, thus it won't be exactly on the top of the well. Most of it wouldn't even come out of the container, because the first part of the solidifying metal would block the way of the rest. And remember, even if you have a big chunk of metal on the top of the well, it only needs a couple of half inch holes and it wouldn't be sealed completely. The disadvantage is that once you tried this and didn't work, you have a bunch of extra metal blocking the access to the wellhead...
You'd think that molten rock or metal would solidify straight away in water,or explode or something, , but it doesn't. It behaves very much as it does in contact with air. Watch this film: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsJn8izcKtg As regards reducing the leak to a few holes, that would be a success. Follow up operations could patch it.
The more important issue is the pressure on the oil coming out of the pipe. Anything you shoot into that hole has to be under as much or greate pressure as the oil coming out. And you are going to have to project that pressure more than a mile under water. And while you are projecting that intense pressure, you have to hope that you are not going to blow out the existing plumbing. You are talking a lot of energy here. And everything would need to be custom built and tested. That all equates to time.
The issue is probably SIZE. The wellhead is pretty decent sized (if you recall the "cap" trying to cover it). Now since it is out at sea, and the molten anything can't stay molten for too long (or we don't have such a big container anyway) it has to be melted out at sea, which is not solved at present time. So in theory it might work, but currently we don't have the technology to do it or it would take more time then other easier solutions. In theory nuking it would also work...
The Torpedo ladles used in the iron industry are large enough. That picture of one that I showed below is on a railroad car. The ladle would be filled on land and transported by sea. They do not lose heat very quickly because they have very good insulation. Also, I think there is technology available to keep the metal at temperature as it is transported. The pipe which is gushing oil has a diameter of 21 inches I believe. Regarding pressure of emerging oil. Yes, that is the biggest objection. The pressure of the oil emerging might make it find new paths and complicate the problem. 300 Tonnes of molten metal versus a pipe gushing oil at high pressure. Which one would win?
it is not just a few inches of pipe what you have to cover but a hole well head, which is like I would say a small sized bus. I am not sure how tall it is, but if it is tall, that ads a lot of metal to the project, because it will first obviously roll off the top to the bottom. I am sure if it was feasable they would have mentioned/tried it by now...
Yes, you are right. I didn't realise what the system looked like. I have a diagram from the BP site which shows the situation more clearly. On TV you don't see any of this huge structure. Possibly it was thought better not to show it. On TV footage it looks like a leaky pipe on the ocean bed, not a tower. I think that my idea might fix a pipe. But not this: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Note the tiny amount of oil escaping. Pffffft! They were not spraying the mud at the place where the leak was occurring. Can anyone who isn't guessing tell me what they were trying to do?
Here is the Russians nuking the gaswell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpPNQoTlacU They used nukes 5 times, 4 of them successful...
I think nukes are way down the line as an option, but not three months down the line, which is what a relief well would take. You may yet see it. Other amateur Red Adares are talking about thermite bombs. I wonder what Brunel or Stephenson would have come up with?
Yes, interesting film. I'm beginning to concur. The explosion is carried out far underground to seal the pipe with a compression wave. Has worked in the past, so is a definite option. It will take longer at sea to drill a hole to place the bomb in I think. Waiting three months without trying other alternatives isn't an option. It's an awful film, making the operation look like something out of the 1950's. If you are interested, please watch past the introduction, where I nearly switched it off. Please read my adjustments to post #52
It was something out of the 50s. Well, '61, but that gas well had been burning for 3 years by then...
What to do with the oil/straw mess?? What to do with the straw/oil mess? Gasification and/or Mycoremediation. I have an extensive list of weblinks to share, but this forum will not permit me to post them. Briefly, Gasification is a process that converts carbonaceous materials into carbon monoxide and hydrogen by reacting the raw material, such as house waste, compost, woodchips, or an OIL/STRAW MIXTURE at high temperatures with a controlled amount of oxygen and/or steam. The resulting gas mixture is called synthesis gas or syngas and is itself a fuel. Gasification is a method for extracting energy from many different types of organic materials. There exist many gasification projects throughout the country. Mycoremediation is a form of bioremediation, the process of using fungi to return an environment (usually soil) contaminated by pollutants to a less contaminated state. The term mycoremediation was coined by Paul Stamets and refers specifically to the use of fungal mycelia in bioremediation.
Basically all we need to do is to put the hay on top of the oil release so that the storm doesn't take the oil with it.
