After two weeks of final tests in the Pacific, the Ocean Cleanup has received the green light to proceed to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and start cleaning plastics.
The Pacific Trials were a crucial step for the organization in verifying the system’s endurance and performance in real life conditions.
The System 001 consists of a 600-meter-long U-shaped floating barrier with a three-meter skirt attached below. It is designed to be propelled by wind and waves, allowing it to passively catch and concentrate plastic debris in front of it.
During the trials the system’s U-shape installation was carried out, and the system attained sufficient speed through water, which means that it moved faster than the plastic in order to capture it.
It also proved its ability to reorient when wind and wave direction changed and attained effective span in steady state, which is crucial for the system to capture and retain plastic.
Finally, no significant damage was detected on the system by the end of the test, paving the way for the system to resume its voyage to its final destination.
Maersk Supply Service‘s Maersk Launcher will now tow the System 001 further out into the Pacific to begin the big cleanup.
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The system needs to travel additional 800 miles to reach the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the world’s largest accumulation zone of ocean plastics, situated halfway between Hawaii and California.
If all goes as planned, the Ocean Cleanup estimates the first plastic could be collected and returned to land within 6 months after deployment. Once successful, and if the funding is available, the organization aims to scale up to a fleet of approximately 60 systems focused on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch over the next two years.
在太平洋地區進行了為期兩週的最終測試後，Ocean Cleanup已可以進入Great Pacific Garbage Patch並開始清潔塑料。
太平洋試驗是該組織在現實生活條件下驗證系統耐久性和性能的關鍵步驟。
System 001由一個600米長的U形浮動屏障組成，下方有一個三米長的裙子。它被設計成由風和波浪推動，允許它被動地捕獲並集中在它前面的塑料碎片。
在試驗期間，系統的U形安裝被執行，系統通過水達到足夠的速度，這意味著它比塑料移動得更快以便捕獲它。
它還證明了當風和波方向改變並在穩定狀態下達到有效收集和重新導向的能力，這對於系統捕獲和收留塑料是至關重要的。
最後，在測試結束時沒有在系統上檢測到重大損壞，為系統恢復其航行到最終目的舖平了道路。
馬士基供應服務公司的馬士基發射器現在將系統001拖到太平洋 ，開始進行大規模清理。
該系統需要再行駛800英里才能到達太平洋垃圾填埋場，這是世界上最大的海洋塑料聚集區，位於夏威夷和加利福尼亞之間。
如果一切按計劃進行，海洋清理估計第一塊塑料可以在部署後6個月內收集並返回陸地。一旦成功，如果資金可用，該組織的目標是在未來兩年內擴大到大約60個系統，重點關注大太平洋垃圾補丁。
Information source: World Maritime News Staff
