A means and apparatus for fluid containment providing for closed loop operation of an apparatus within a column of liquid. The apparatus extracts power from a buoyant source within the contained column of liquid and is comprised of an endless chain of movable buoyant objects, a means to convert the movement of the chain into useful work and a tank filled with a constant volume column of liquid. The buoyant objects comprising the chain sequentially enter the bottom of the liquid column through an airlock seal of the current invention, move up through the column and emerge at the surface. The emerging buoyant objects leave the tank and are directed to the tank bottom where each buoyant object repeats the cycle. As the chain of buoyant objects cycles through the displaced column of liquid, the volume of liquid remains constant, with one buoyant object of the chain entering the bottom of the liquid column as one is exiting at the top surface. The invention provides for closed loop operation of the apparatus and increased control fluid flow rates within the apparatus to addresses liquid leakage due to mechanical wear at seals and to provide a controlled method for removal of friction generated heat within the apparatus. Chambered sections within the apparatus create fluid flow restriction zones where differential pressure can be controlled to further reduce the force requirement for injecting each buoyant object (a.k.a. displacing element) into the bottom of the contained column of liquid.
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