| Water treatment system -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
  Water treatment systemUSPTO Application #: 20070284245Title: Water treatment system Abstract: A system for the treatment of water to remove metals and undesirable substances from well and groundwater so as to render the water potable is disclosed. The system employs microbubbles of oxygen, which remain suspended in water at a concentration above 100% of the calculated saturated concentration at a particular temperature and pressure. These microbubbles oxidize undesirable substances in the water, which substances include iron manganese, arsenic, antimony, chrome, aluminum, reduced sulfur compounds, pesticide residues, drug metabolites and/or bacteria. Microbubbles are produced by electrolysis or by sparging through a microorifice. A control system for the electrolytic system is disclosed. (end of abstract) Agent: Patterson, Thuente, Skaar & Christensen, P.A. - Minneapolis, MN, US Inventors: Rudolph R. Hegel, Robert K. Sorensen USPTO Applicaton #: 20070284245 - Class: 204280 (USPTO) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070284245. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001]This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/813,267, filed Jun. 13, 2006. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002]The invention pertains to treatment of water to remove metals and undesirable substances from well and groundwater so as to render the water potable. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003]Water for domestic, industrial and farm use frequently is contaminated with minerals, organic substances, and bacteria that render the water unpotable and even dangerous to health. Among these contaminants is ferrous iron, which forms a colloidal mass with water and fouls plumbing. Manganese and arsenic, both toxic metals, are frequently found in water. Another is hydrogen sulfide, which imparts a rotten egg smell to the water. Organic substances may include pesticide residues, drug metabolites and other contaminants that are released into the groundwater. Harmful bacteria such as Salmonella sp., E. coli, Shigella sp. and Clostridia sp. have been implicated in outbreaks of illness with significant mortality. [0004]These contaminants generally have one thing in common: they are inactivated, killed or transformed to innocuous substances when oxidized. Municipalities have long treated their water supplies with oxidants such as chlorine to control contamination. Chlorine is not totally harmless. For those small municipalities or individual farms or homes, it is impractical to use chlorine to treat water. [0005]A widely used treatment system employs the chemical oxidant potassium permanganate to oxidize contaminants. Basically, running water is passed through a bed of permanganate to convert the fouling ferrous iron to the soluble ferric iron and the odorous hydrogen sulfide to non-odorous sulfate. Other contaminants are likewise oxidized to harmless chemicals and bacteria are killed. This system, though effective, is difficult and expensive to maintain and requires periodic backflushing and replacement of the permanganate. Permanganate being a toxic and reactive chemical, service of the system can be hazardous. [0006]Oxygen may be used. Oxygen content of water may be raised by several means: bubbling with air; spraying the water into the air; applying pressure to increase the dissolved oxygen, or by the electrolysis of water. [0007]U.S. Pat. No. 6,171,469 described raising the oxygen content of water by passing the water through a set of electrolysis cells. In order to raise the oxygen content to the desired 13-17 ppm, it is necessary to recirculate the water past the cells 15 to 55 times. [0008]None of these methods except the permanganate system deliver treated water on demand, but require the construction of a retention tank and thus are not convenient for home or farm use. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009]The present invention provides one or a plurality of emitters contained in one or a plurality of electrolysis chambers through which water flows. When activated, the emitters cause the evolution of microbubbles of oxygen. The emitters are connected to a power source controlled by a controller containing a flow switch. When the flow switch senses water demand, that is, when a spigot is opened, the controller causes voltage to be applied to the electrolysis cells. The electrolysis cell or cells comprise electrodes separated from each other by a critical distance as more fully described in co-pending patent application Ser. No. 10/732,326 (the "'326" application), the teachings of which are incorporated by reference. Briefly, the anode and cathode are separated by 0.005 to 0.140 inches. The most preferred critical distance is 0.065 inches. Any cathode or electrode known in the art may be used. Any number of emitters may be arranged in the electrolysis chamber; the following examples show a typical array of three rectangular emitters, but it is understood that the invention is not limited to three, but may comprise one to several or hundreds of emitters, depending on the volume of running water to be treated. Likewise, it may be convenient to pass the water through a plurality of chambers, arranged in series or in parallel, in order to make a more compact unit or to treat large quantities of flowing water. [0010]In the preferred embodiment, the cathode and electrode are formed of the same material and the controller causes the polarity to be reversed at a set signal. Many cathodes and anodes are commercially available. U.S. Pat. No. 5,982,609 discloses cathodes comprising a metal or metallic oxide of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of ruthenium, iridium, nickel, iron, rhodium, rhenium, cobalt, tungsten, manganese, tantalum, molybdenum, lead, titanium, platinum, palladium and osmium or oxides thereof. Anodes are preferably formed from the same metallic oxides or metals as cathodes. Electrodes may also be formed from alloys of the above metals or metals and oxides co-deposited on a substrate. The cathode and anodes may be formed on any convenient support in any desired shape or size. The most preferred electrode is titanium coated with iridium oxide. [0011]Polarity of the electrodes is reversed in order to clean the electrodes of deposited minerals. The time of reversal may be set for any convenient interval or be activated by any convenient means. The means for reversal include: reversal each time the well pump turns on; when the water flow is initiated; at timed intervals from 45 seconds to 24 hours or more; or manually. When the water flow is intermittent, it is convenient to program the controller to change polarity each time the flow switch detects a flow of water. The preferred embodiment is self-cleaning; mineral residue tends to build up on the cathode when current is flowing. When the current is reversed, the anode and the cathode change polarity. The mineral buildup on the former cathode is repelled and starts to form on the new cathode. This reversal of polarity limits the amount of buildup and the emitter is essentially self-cleaning. [0012]The system is supplied with valves to direct the water flow. The water may be directed to bypass the electrolysis chamber, to pass through the chamber to be oxygenated, or a separate line is provided to backflush the electrolysis chamber to remove any minerals that may have accumulated in the vicinity of the electrodes. [0013]Any embodiment is preferably supplied with fail-safe sensors, valves and the like, devices known to those in the art. When the flow switch senses that there is no water flow, the power is turned off. A temperature sensor in the electrolysis chamber shuts off current if the current is applied but no water is flowing. In that case, the temperature in the chamber rises and the temperature sensor will instruct the controller to cut the voltage. Likewise, relief valves to release fluid in case of liquid or gas pressure buildup may be located at any point in the system. A gas relief valve is best vented to the outside. [0014]The system includes an electrical circuit to control the activation of the emitters, to reverse polarity and to inactivate the emitters when water is not flowing. [0015]In an alternate embodiment, the oxygen is provided by bubbling it into a chamber. In this embodiment, the oxygen can be supplied by tank or generated on the site by PSA technology. The embodiment that comes closest to approximating the result of the present invention is sparging oxygen through a microorifice in order to produce microbubbles of oxygen. [0016]Water may contain many undesirable substances, such as iron, manganese, arsenic, antimony, chrome and aluminum. The reduced salts are generally soluble, while oxidized metals, such as Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 or MnO.sub.2 are insoluble and form fine precipitates. Reduced sulfur compounds, such as H.sub.2S, have a noxious odor, while oxidized sulfur compounds are generally odorless. Other undesirable substances include pesticide residues, drug metabolites and bacteria. In all embodiments, it is recommended to pass the effluent of treated water through a final filter bed in order to remove fine precipitates and to improve the clarity of the water. Such filter beds are well known in the art and include: Birm filter, Greensand, Pyrolux. Filtersand, Filter-Ag, activated carbon, anthracite and garnet. [0017]When the water is hard, that is, contains divalent metals such as calcium and magnesium, the portion of the effluent intended to be heated, may pass through a water softener. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0018]FIG. 1 shows a simple water treatment system. [0019]FIG. 2 shows a water treatment system with added safety devices and a bypass. Continue reading... Full patent description for Water treatment system Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Water treatment system patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Water treatment system or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Electrolysis apparatus with pulsed, dual voltage, multi-composition electrode assembly Next Patent Application: Method and apparatus to detect fault conditions of plasma processing reactor Industry Class: Chemistry: electrical and wave energy ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Water treatment system patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 2.3182 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Qualcomm , Schering-Plough , Schlumberger , Seagate , Siemens , Texas Instruments , |
||
