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Voraxial

Competition Results: 
Combined MEAN ORR Combined MEAN ORE CALM MEAN ORR CALM MEAN ORE WAVE MEAN ORR WAVE MEAN ORE
693 49.2% 941* 63.9% 445* 34.5%

ORR = Oil recovery rate in gallons per minute
ORE = Oil recover efficiency in percentage of oil to water collected
* Non-qualifying as no 3 runs within 20% of mean; full competition results available here

Team Leader Bio: 
Laura Di Bella is the Vice President of Marketing and Investor Relations for Enviro Voraxial Technology, Inc. She is the daughter of the founder and CEO of EVTN, Alberto Di Bella, and cousin to the COO of the company, John Di Bella.
Team Story: 

The Voraxial® Separator was originally designed in the aftermath of the Valdez Oil Spill in 1989. Unfortunately once again, the lack for readily deployable oil spill response vessels and equipment became painfully aware to the public at large after the explosion and subsequent sinking of the Deepwater Horizon platform in late April 2010, which resulted in an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil spilling into the Gulf.

At the behest of countless numbers of the company's investors who had forwarded the challenge information to the company we overwhelmingly agreed to sign up. We at EVTN are confident in our technology and believe that the Voraxial® Separator is a strong contender in this competition.

Technology: 
The Voraxial® Separator is a high “g” force, continuous flow machine that separates large volumes of fluids based on their different densities. The Voraxial® impeller is a non-clogging, low shear device designed to produce a vortex in the fluids flowing through the unit with the heavier fluids (water) being drawn to the outside of the vortex, while the lighter materials (oil) are drawn to form a central core. In this manner, separated streams are produced. A specially designed manifold at the exit of the separation chamber is utilized to collect the separated streams. The oil recovery system including the Voraxial® Separator is compact and scaleable to recover oil close to shore or at out at sea. One (1) Voraxial® 8000 System can be deployed to process over 172,000 barrels of oil and seawater mixture per day. One (1) Voraxial® 4000 System can be deployed to process over 17,000 barrels per day. The systems are designed so that multiple units can be installed on a single vessel either aboveboard or submerged below the water surface on an open water or a shallow draft vessel. The system would include a skimmer to collect the oil/water mixture from the surface water, a hose to channel the captured liquids to a positive displacement transfer pump and then to the Voraxial® Separator for separation. The cleaned water is returned to the sea while a more concentrated oil/water mixture is collected and discharged into a collection tank. EVTN can coordinate the provisioning of the entire system except for the vessels, tankers and booms to channel the oil. Please visit our website www.evtn.com for additional information as well as photos of the above description.
Team Quote: 
"The Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE is important because the lack for readily deployable oil spill response vessels and equipment became painfully aware to the public at large after the explosion and subsequent sinking of the Deepwater Horizon platform in late April 2010, which resulted in an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil spilling into the Gulf. Sadly, this tragic event exposed the Achilles heel within the ever lucrative oil and gas industry, and with so much capital invested in advances in drilling technology it is hard to fathom that there has never been much in the way of funds dedicated toward spill and recovery technology. We at EVTN appreciate and applaud everyone involved in the development of this challenge and encourage and support all of its participants, for every contribution toward this worthy cause is a guaranteed step in the right direction. Thank you in advance for your consideration."
Team Leader: 
Laura Di Bella
Team Location: 
USA (FL)
Team Members: 
Alberto Di Bella
John Di Bella
Competition Video: 
Team Photos: 
Team Website: 
http://www.evtn.com

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In Memory

X PRIZE extends its condolences to the family of Alberto Mario Di Bella, who passed away on December 7 at the age of 81. Alberto was a brilliant engineer, entrepreneur, and President and CEO of his family business, Enviro Voraxial Technology, Inc. As one of ten team finalists in the Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE, we are grateful that Alberto was able to realize his vision and share it with the world.