Development of Hydraulic Lifting System of Deep-Sea Mineral Resources

Abstract

Lifting coarse mineral particles from thousands of meters of seabed to the supportive vessSel is a crucial part of exploitation of deep-sea mineral resources, and the vertical transportation part is a key component of the deep-sea mining system. Three typical vertical transportation schemes are discussed and compared from the aspects of working mechanism, structural scheme, transportation capacity, system efficiency and implementation feasibility in the context of commercial exploitation of deep-sea polymetallic nodules. The conclusion is that the hydraulic pipeline lifting system with a centrifugal pump is a comprehensive scheme. Furthermore, the basic composition and function of the hydraulic lifting system are introduced, and the transportation performance indicators and technical requirements under commercial mining conditions are analyzed. As the key equipment of the lifting system, the structural characteristics, design theory, transportation performance analysis methods and research progress of the lifting pump are described. A 1000 m sea trial was carried out. The lifting system, the tests of the centrifugal pump and the sea trial are introduced.

Research Status of Deep-Sea Polymetallic Nodule Collection Technology

“…The pipeline lift collection system mainly obtains nodules from the seabed with a collecting device and lifts the nodules from the seabed to the mining ship using hydraulic or pneumatic means. Compared with the previous three, this system has the advantages of simple structure, good operation continuity and high economy, and is the mainstream polymetallic nodule collection system in recent years [23][24][25][26][27].…”

“…After many sea tests [20][21][22], the above three operating modes gene ally have problems such as low acquisition efficiency, low economy and poor reliabilit so they are gradually eliminated with the advancement of research. The pipeline lift co lection system mainly obtains nodules from the seabed with a collecting device and lif the nodules from the seabed to the mining ship using hydraulic or pneumatic mean Compared with the previous three, this system has the advantages of simple structur good operation continuity and high economy, and is the mainstream polymetallic nodu collection system in recent years [23][24][25][26][27].…”

Three-Dimensional Upper Bound Solution to Estimate Soil Thrust of a Track System on Saturated Clay Slopes under Undrained Conditions

“…Recently, there has been an increased focus on seabed resources [1], which has spurred the development of related mining technologies, such as the piping lifting system (e.g., [2,3]). In seabed mining, vehicles like backhoes, bulldozers, and excavators are essential for collecting and transporting resources, significantly impacting the efficiency of the process.…”

Study on Collection Performance of Hydraulic Polymetallic Nodule Collector Based on Solid–Liquid Two-Phase Flow Numerical Simulation

“…With the increasing demand for mineral resources, the development of deep-sea mineral resources is attracting the interest of increasing numbers of countries and researchers, and it has become one of the hot spots for new resource development [1]. There are abundant resources such as cobalt-rich crusts, polymetallic nodules, and polymetallic sulfides in the vast deep sea [2], which can be employed in the research and development of energy batteries, special materials, superconductors, and other advanced technologies [3]. Polymetallic nodules are a mineral resource in the submarine plain at a depth of 3500-6500 m, which contain several kinds of metals such as copper, cobalt, nickel, and manganese [4].…”