Device for removing a sludge from a surface

TLDR: In this paper, a high velocity liquid jet is inserted into a shovel in the vicinity of the mouth to impinge upon the sludge and to break it up into a slurry and means are provided for withdrawing the slurry upwardly through a conduit for discharge at a remote location.

Abstract: A device for removing a sludge from the surface of a liquid or from a floor such as a deck of a tanker includes a shovel which is adapted to be moved along the sludge with its opened mouth positioned to receive the sludge. The construction includes a connection for directing a high velocity liquid jet into the shovel in the vicinity of the mouth to impinge upon the sludge and to break it up into a slurry and, in addition, means are provided for withdrawing the slurry upwardly through a conduit for discharge at a remote location. The discharging connection advantageously includes a liquid ejector which is operated partly by the conduit connected for supplying the high velocity jet of liquid to the shovel and which is connected to the shovel for providing a withdrawing suction or pumping action on the slurry which is formed in the shovel. In a further embodiment, the interior of the shovel is provided with a screen or grate across the shovel interior onto which the slurry is directed and against which the high velocity liquid jet is directed. The action breaks up the slurry elements into finer elements for withdrawal through the discharge conduit. A still further embodiment includes an intermediate chamber at the rear of the shovel which is adapted to receive the slurry after it is first acted upon by the high velocity jet and which includes a plurality of turning water streams which are directed in a whirling flow to cause a rotation and further pulverizing of the slurry material before it is delivered through the discharge conduit.