Engineering approach for cleaning-up garbage patches

Abstract

Much of garbage patches consist of plastics, and most of these plastics are reusable (Werthmann, 2007). Long-lasting plastics that are found in garbage patches contain numerous toxic materials (Teuten et al., 2009). Cleaning up garbage patches involves environmental matters and economic and social factors. Economically speaking, transportation and disposal processes require high costs, which is why the problem will worsen. Socially, the garbage patch affects the health and lives of people those who occupy coasts that border the ocean gyres (Leous et al., 2005 and UNEP, 2011). Thus, various research studies have been performed to improve the garbage patch problem. In this paper, we discuss the use of an FRSO (floating, recycling, storage and offloading) vessel as a novel approach to cleaning up garbage patches. From the point of view that considers garbage patches as a type of a new energy source and raw materials, an FRSO could recycle the debris into oil, gas and raw materials in the ocean over long time periods. Copyright ？ 2013 by the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE).