THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE FOR THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD (USCG) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER (RDC) IN GROTON, CT. This Request For Information (RFI) is part of a market research effort to assess industry capabilities that will best address the USCG's needs. The USCG RDC is chartered to conduct research, development, testing and evaluation activities. The USCG RDC is seeking sources capable of providing systems to improve floating heavy oil collection and recovery technologies in the areas described below. 1) Pumps - Although annular water injection (AWI) systems have increased the capacity of commonly used pumps, further research is needed in the realm of minimizing the amount of water injected or mixed with recovered oil, and addressing "worst case" scenarios of reinitiating flow after pump stoppages. The following areas need improvement for pumping viscous oil: a) Develop additional AWI system settings to assist in the start of long distance pumping and initiation of the annular flow process; b) Develop methods for the clearing of clogged hose; c) Develop methods to reinitialize annular flow in long distance hoses after a temporary shut-down (content may settle and possibly cool in cold or freezing conditions); and, d) Develop methods to remove lubricating water before it is discharged into storage. 2) Containment Strategies and Equipment - In previous work to develop new containment devices, light oil was used in modeling the process. Recommendations are sought on how to bridge from light to heavy oil, including simple containment testing using heavy oils and lighter oils to gauge the differences in performance based on viscosity. Equipment designs or modifications that take advantage of the properties of heavy oil are also sought. For example, booms with netting as part of the skirt may perform well as the netting would allow some water to pass but retard the flow of oil. Areas that need improvement include: a) Develop operating characteristics for containment boom using both dense and light oils with over a wide viscosity range to determine the influence on containment and identify failure modes, and b) Evaluate and develop methods to improve containment such as rope snares in conjunction with "typical" standard and sorbent booms. 3) Skimmers - Weir skimmers, which are commonly used for spill response in a range of oil types, usually perform poorly in heavy oil unless the layer is sufficiently thick to overcome the oil's resistance to flow. Belt and brush skimmers have proven effective at recovering heavy, viscous oils and multiple manufacturers are adapting modifications to the most popular weir skimmers to make them more effective, too. Further study needs include: a) Determine how to maintain the performance of modified weir skimmers loaded with heavy oil, under a range of operating conditions, to determine the impact of skimmer buoyancy and oil weight; and b) Ways to improve the performance of viscous oil adapters/modifications and stock weir skimmers in waves when compared to other skimmers designed specifically for viscous oils. 4) Storage - One significant limiting factor for the success of heavy oil recovery is the storage of the oil during skimming operations. Problems in handling and pumping heavy, viscous oil may limit the speed at which temporary storage can be offloaded, or even if the stored oil can be accessed because it may cool below its pour point. Research needs include the following: a) Identify and test methods of localized heating to enable temporary storage to be offloaded, and b) Identify and test methods to speed the emptying of storage bladders (techniques such as lifting with a bridle in conjunction with a crane have been used, but simpler methods may be available) and c) Develop methods to separate water from oil in temporary and permanent storage. NOTE: Actual proposals are not being solicited at this time for the above requirement. Statements addressing the above capability areas shall be limited to three (3) pages. The statements must include: A) Description of concept including: 1) an overview of the theory, the equipment needed to implement it, the operating method, and conditions of operation, 2) General approach to concept development including identifying off-the-shelf equipment and equipment to be developed; 3) timeline and rough order-of-magnitude costs; 4) Support needs from outside resources (e.g., vessel, aircraft, electrical power, etc.), and 5) Any knowledge of previous experience/attempts at this approach and references; B) Any proposed testing methods; and C) Any partners D) Any direct or indirect experience with these issues. The report entitled "Floating Heavy Oil Recovery: Current State Analysis" provides general information on this subject and can be accessed at http://www.rdc.uscg.gov/reports/products/floating%20heavy%20oil%20recovery%20report.pdf Responses to this market survey shall be sent directly to:
[email protected] with a copy to
[email protected]. Only electronic responses will be accepted and shall be submitted no later that September 30, 2006. The NAICS code for this RFI is 541710. Please identify if you are a Small or Large Business. PHONE CALLS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AND MESSAGES LEFT WILL NOT BE RETURNED.