Open innovation, even if it’s not requested…
With increasing specialization and the spread of knowledge to more countries, more and more companies are opening up their labs to tap the world for solving problems (usually innovation related, hence the title ‘open innovation’, after a 2003 book by Henry Chesbrough).
It can even come in unsolicited forms. A Dutch engineering firm has advertised it’s (stated) ability to solve the Gulf disaster in a matter of days. Apparently they also have nifty ideas for the clean-up. It’s way above our pay grade to be able to judge whether any of this works, but we think you knew that already..
This would be effective in stopping the spill, but I am not sure if it would cause a new set of problems, like GODZILLA!! 😉
http://oil-price.net/en/articles/nukes-to-stop-the-oil-gusher.php
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/us/02spill.html?th&emc=th
The decision to try to siphon off the leaking oil came after the failed “top kill” procedure, in which heavy drilling mud was pumped at up to 80 barrels a minute into the well in hopes of overcoming the pressure of surging oil and gas. But, response teams were never able to drive the mud far enough down in the well to overcome the oil, said Doug Suttles, BP’s chief operating officer for exploration and production, in an interview during a helicopter ride over coastal areas.
Officials suspect that the mud could have been escaping from the well far below the ocean floor, possibly through a rupture disk, a built-in weak point in the steel pipe that lines the well.
This concern is what led officials to decide to end attempts to plug the well, Mr. Suttles said. If the well were capped — such as by a new blowout preventer — the resulting pressure could force oil out through a flaw in the well, and another leak could sprout on the ocean floor.
Mr. Suttles said he expected the cap being readied this week would be able to siphon off the “vast majority” of the oil, though not all of it, and that subsea dispersants would be still be needed.
The challenges facing the maneuver are similar to the problems that bedeviled the 98-ton containment dome which was lowered over one of the leaks several weeks ago. That dome failed when hydrates — icelike crystals of gas and water — formed at the dome’s opening and prevented oil from escaping. The cap-and-riser system is designed to fit fairly snugly to reduce the influx of water, and methanol and heated water will be used to further reduce the chances that hydrates form.