A system and a method for dissolving a cleaning agent in a liquid solvent

Abstract

The invention is related to a system and method for dissolving a cleaning agent in a liquid solvent for the wet cleaning machines, such as washing machine. The system for dissolving a cleaning agent in a liquid solvent to be used in wet cleaning comprises a hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10), which prepares a first solution of the cleaning agent and the liquid solvent by hydrodynamic cavitation, having an inlet port (11) for receiving the cleaning agent and the liquid solvent, a plurality of microchannels (12) which are parallel to each other, an outlet chamber (13) where the microchannels (12) are connected, a pressure port (14) provided on the outlet chamber; at least one cleaning agent source (A) for providing the cleaning agent to the hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10) to prepare the first solution; a line for transferring a solvent without entering the hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10) to a volume where the first solution and the liquid solvent is mixed; and a processing unit configured to determine a ratio for the first and the second solution to obtain mixture of the first and the second solution with a predetermined concentration.

Description

[0001] A SYSTEM AND A METHOD FOR DISSOLVING A CLEANING AGENT IN A LIQUID SOLVENT

[0002] Technical Field

[0003] The invention is related to a system and method for dissolving a cleaning agent in a liquid solvent for the wet cleaning machines, such as washing machine.

[0004] Prior Art

[0005] Most of wet washing machines uses solvents such as a water to dissolve to a cleaning agent such as detergent and apply such solution to material desired to be cleaned. Mostly, a tap water received from water system of home is poured over the cleaning agent to prepare to prepare cleaning solution. Even if this approach is effective for dissolving, it is vastly time and energy consuming process.

[0006] To reducing process duration, the heating the solvent is one of the proposed solutions in the known state of the art. Heating reduces total time of dissolving however it consumes extra energy. Similarly, the pressure of solvent is effective but it also consumes extra energy.

[0007] Another solution proposed is using of hydrodynamic cavitation for dissolving detergent in water. Hydrodynamic cavitation is a known phenomenon that occurs when the pressure of a liquid is rapidly decreased. The rapid pressure change in the liquid causes the formation of bubble below normal boiling point. The bubbles implode when they are moved by flow to higher pressure section and generates localized forces, high temperatures, and shock waves which can be harnessed for different usages. The forces also can be used in dissolving detergent for the washing appliances.

[0008] Perdih et al [1] proposes a device that using hydrodynamic cavitation for such a purpose. The device disclosed comprises rotary disk having radially channel disturbed around rotation axis. The detergent and the water that dissolves the detergent are both goes through to channel, when the disk rotates, to drum of washing machine.

[0009] CN109663515A discloses clothing treatment apparatus with hydrodynamic cavitation device. The hydrodynamic cavitation devices generate bubbles in the water clothing treatment apparatus to improve efficiency of cleaning. Talabazar et al [2] discloses hydro cavitation chip with microchannels for more effective dissolution of the solute and the solvent. In this device, the solute and the solvent pass through the microchannels to generate hydro cavitation forces wherein 8 microchannels are positioned parallel to each other.

[0010] As a result, all of the problem mentioned above has made it necessary to provide a novelty in the related field.

[0011] Brief Description and Objects of the Invention

[0012] The main object of the present invention is to reduce duration of the dissolving process carried out for the wet cleaning machines, such as a washing machine.

[0013] Another object of the invention is to reduce the energy consumption of the dissolving process of wet cleaning machines.

[0014] Another object of the invention is to eliminate or reduce of damage caused by hydro cavitation forces on the wet cleaning machines.

[0015] Another object of the invention is to eliminate requirement of the pressure pumps generally used to pressure the solvent to be use dissolve cleaning agents.

[0016] To achieve such purposes, a cleaning agent and a liquid solvent is passes through parallel microchannels of a hydrodynamic microfluidic device and the hydrodynamic microfluidic device creates hydrodynamic cavitation effect which enabling faster dissolving of the cleaning agent in the liquid solvent and saturated solution is provided by this process. The saturated solution directly mixed with solvent which doesn’t pass the hydrodynamic microfluidic device. Ratio of the saturated solution and the solvent in mixture is determined by processing unit. This method and the system carried out this method surprisingly enables faster preparation of a solution with right concentration for wet cleaning machines and less energy consuming.

[0017] Furthermore, the cleaning agent and the liquid solvent or solution of them may heated and the system of the present invention may comprise heating means. Such a heating also reduces duration of preparing process of the present invention. The present invention still provides better dissolving efficiency, even if additional heating is used in comparison to devices with heating in known technique. Moreover, the hydrodynamic microfluidic device is provided outside of the body of the wet cleaning machine, in a preferred embodiment. As already mentioned, the hydrodynamic cavitation generates shockwave when the bubbles implode and that shockwaves creates damage on wet cleaning machine. So, positioning of the hydrodynamic microfluidic device eliminates or reduces damages caused by the shockwaves.

[0018] Description of the Figures of the Invention

[0019] The figures and related descriptions necessary for the subject matter of the invention to be understood better are given below.

[0020] Figure 1. A schematic view of the present invention.

[0021] Figure la. A schematic view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention

[0022] Figure 2. An isometric view of the cavitation device

[0023] Figure 2a. A schematic view of the microfluidic device.

[0024] Figure 3. Graphic of UV-Vis spectroscopy results versus time of mixing after complete pass of the flow through the HC reactor.

[0025] Figure 4. Graphic of powder detergent dissolution at three different working flow temperature for zero and one pass through the HC.

[0026] Reference Numbers

[0027] The parts and components are given in the figures are referenced for the subject matter of the invention to be understood better.

[0028] 10. Hydrodynamic microfluidic device

[0029] 11. Inlet port

[0030] 12. Microchannel

[0031] 13. Outlet chamber

[0032] 14. Pressure port

[0033] 15. Inlet chamber

[0034] A. Cleaning agent source S. Source

[0035] WM. Wet cleaning machine

[0036] H. Heating mean

[0037] HC. Hydrodynamic cavitation device

[0038] Detailed Description of the Invention

[0039] The invention is related to a system and method for dissolving a cleaning agent in a liquid solvent for the wet cleaning machines, such as washing machine.

[0040] Referring to Figure 1; the system of present invention comprises a hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC). The hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC) is a device configured to generate hydrodynamic cavitation bubbles when the liquid pass through it.

[0041] The hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC) is connected with a source (S) that provide a solvent such as a water and a cleaning agent source (A) that provide a solute such as a detergent in powder or liquid detergent in such a way that the solvent and solute passes through the hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC). The source (S) is preferably a main water system provides tap water. Alternatively, the system may comprise it is own source to provide solvent to hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC).

[0042] A first solution is prepared by the solvent and the cleaning agent passes through the hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC). The hydrodynamic cavitation forces make the cleaning agent dissolve faster in the solvent. In present invention, the first solution prepared is saturated solution.

[0043] The system also comprises a line for a solvent. The line transfers the solvent from the source (S) to a volume that it is mixed with the first solution without connect the hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC) because transferring a liquid through hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC) is time consuming process.

[0044] The solvent transferred the line and the first solution is mixed in a volume. The volume may be provided in the wet cleaning machine (WM) such a container or drum of the (WM). Alternatively, the volume may be outside body of the wet cleaning machine (WM) such a container that connects to wet cleaning machine (WM) or line itself may function as the volume. The mix of the first solution and solvent transferred is used or sent for clean items in the wet cleaning machine (WM).

[0045] The ratio of the first solution and the solvent to be mixed is determined by a processing unit (not shown in figures) to obtain a solution predetermined concentration. The concentration value may be determined the user or preset values dependent to cleaning program of the machine. The system may also comprise input unit (not shown in figures) for inputting concentration value by the user.

[0046] The system may comprise valves (not shown in figures) that controls, input (solvent and cleaning agent) or output values of the hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC) or the solvent value transferred to mix with the first solution. Furthermore, a flow meter or pressure meter for determining amount of the input (solvent and cleaning agent) or output values of the hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC) or the solvent value transferred. In this case, the processing unit may also be configured to control such valves to obtain final solution having right concentration to clean items. The controlling signals may be generated according to data received from a flow meter or pressure meter.

[0047] Referring to Figure 2 and 2a; to achieve a goal that obtaining final solution having right concentration to clean item with reduced dissolving process, the specialized hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC) is required. The hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC) comprises a hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10) and package that covers hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10). The package has appropriate input and output opening corresponds with input and output opening hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10).

[0048] The hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10) comprises an input port (11) that connected to source (S) and the cleaning agent source (A) which provide respectively the solvent such as a water and the cleaning agent such as detergent to be mixed and dissolved by hydrodynamic cavitation forces.

[0049] The inputs (solvent and cleaning agent) received by input port (11) is transferred to a plurality of microchannels (12) of the hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10). In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the inputs transferred to microchannels (12) through an inlet chamber (15). The inlet chamber (15) is a section that connects the input port (11) to the microchannels (12).

[0050] The inlet chamber (15) is designed as a rather long section to let the transient chaotic flow disappear before the fluid enters the microchannels (12). The inlet chamber (15) comprises a first section and its width gradually expand from input port (11) to second part. The second part is a section has fixed width. At least one pressure ports (14) are connected to the inlet chamber (15) to measure pressures in there.

[0051] The microchannels are parallel to each other. Preferably, 10 microchannels is used sequentially, a width and length of the microchannels (12) is respectively between 400-1000 pm and between 200-4000 pm and a distance between two sequential microchannels (12) is between 400-1000 pm. Unlike the macro scale, surface nuclei played a crucial role in the micro scale. The current invention employs multiple microchannels (12) to induce vigorous cavitation with intensified bubble collapses, which is believed to play a pivotal role in enhancing detergent dissolution rates by providing essential energy for surfactant disintegration. The advantages over macroscale single channel reactors are manifold. Firstly, it offers higher efficiency due to the increased surface area, allowing for more efficient and effective cavitation, along with enhanced mixing that accelerates mass transfer processes. Secondly, the reactor facilitates increased reaction rates through faster dissolution rates and improved reaction kinetics due to a higher density of cavitation bubbles generated by the smaller size and increased number of nucleation sites. At least one pressure ports (14) are connected to the microchannels (12) to measure pressures in there. This pressure port (14) and the pressure port (14) of inlet chamber (15) estimates cavitation number together.

[0052] The parallelization of micro / milli-scale restriction elements enable the generation of highly intensified cavitation using standard plumbing water pressure, eliminating the need for an additional pressure supplier.

[0053] The microchannels (12) are connected to the outlet chamber (15) where the pressure port (14) is provided. Bubbles and liquid phase generated by the microchannels (12) enters outlet chamber (15) and leaves the hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10) the pressure port (14) of the outlet chamber (15). The bubbles implode after leaving the hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10) and this causes the efficient dissolving process of the cleaning agent in the solvent.

[0054] Preferably, the outlet chamber (15) has two pressure ports (14), one of which is used to monitor the pressure inside. This measurement is crucial for accurately predicting the pressure at the outlet boundary of the domain.

[0055] A dimension of the hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10) is shown in Table 1.

[0056] Table 1 : HC generator devices properties

[0057] As can be seen from disclosed structure of hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10) doesn’t have moving parts, contributing to improved energy efficiency and ease of implementation.

[0058] In preferred embodiment of the invention, the liquid solvent and / or the cleaning agent of the first solution is heated before the enter the hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10). The system may comprise heating means (H) before the hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10).

[0059] Alternatively, the first solution may be heated after leaving the hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10) and the system may comprise heating means (H) after the hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10).

[0060] The heating the liquid solvent and / or the cleaning agent of the first solution is heated between 30-50°C. The processing unit may also be configured to control the heating means and determine ratio of the first solution and solvent by taking into the consideration of temperature value.

[0061] The wet washing machine may comprise the system above mention.

[0062] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC) is provided outside of the body of the wet washing machine. Unlike existing laundry machines that prepare dissolution directly in the machine drum, our invention introduces the potential for a separate chamber dedicated to dissolution preparation. This strategic design prevents any destructive influence of cavitation on the operating functionalities of the machine, as well as erosion or harm caused by bubbles on treated objects.

[0063] The different experiments were conducted to observe the efficiency of the present invention.

[0064] In these experiments a standard stirrer with angular velocity of 150 RPM is used to have mixing without cavitation. The used liquid detergents and their properties are illustrated in Table 2.

[0065] Table 2: Conductivity results for different solute to solvent ratio

[0066] In a study of Maleki et al [3], the impact of various parameters, such as upstream pressure and solute / solution ratio for liquid detergent, as well as the number of cycles for the powder detergent is investigated, using different hydrodynamic cavitation reactors.

[0067] The initial stage of the experiments focused on exploring the feasibility of reducing the time required for preparing the washing solution. Traditionally, preparing a washing solution with the standard concentration necessitates passing the entire required washing volume through the HC generator. However, a sub volume (the liquid solvent and the cleaning agent passes through hydrodynamic microfluidic device) the of the required washing solution to create a washing solution with a saturated concentration of the detergent is used, instead of traditional methods.

[0068] In these experiments, a calibration curve for the detergent is established to determine the saturation point. By subjecting the sub volume of the solution to the hydrodynamic cavitation generator with an upstream pressure of 1.034 Mpa, generated a cavitating flow is generated. The resulting solution was then characterized using a UV-Vis spectroscopy device, illustrates that the relation between the concentration and peak absorbance is nearly linear up to a concentration of 30 ml / 1. Beyond this point, further increases in concentration have no significant effect on the peak absorbance, indicating the saturation point.

[0069] To prepare a solution with a concentration of 4.5 ml / 1, only passed 15% of the total required solution volume is passed through the hydrodynamic cavitation generator, while simultaneously mixing the output of the hydrodynamic cavitation generator with the remaining 85% volume. After completing the passage of all the fluid through the hydrodynamic cavitation reactor, the mixing process is continued and conducted sampling at different time intervals. Interestingly, observations demonstrated that approximately maximum dissolution was achieved at the same time as the completion of the working flow (Figure 3). This finding suggests that using this technique allows us to achieve an impressive 85% reduction in time consumption during the preparation of the washing solution.

[0070] It is observed in previous that achieving maximum dissolution for the standard solute / solvent ratio of 9 mg / 1 with the powder detergent required multiple passes through the reactor. However, in the current investigation, we aimed to leverage the combined influence of heat and cavitation to eliminate the need for multiple passes and enhance the dissolution process.

[0071] To achieve this goal, three different combinations of cavitation and heat is investigated by utilizing an upstream pressure of 0.689 MPa and three working flow temperatures of 30, 40, and 50 degrees Celsius. The powder consisting of %77 IEC-A + %20 sodium perborate + %3 TAED was provided to be dissolved within distilled water with 9 mg / 1 solute to solvent ratio. The results of these experiments are depicted in Figure 4, which shows the peak absorbance values of the heated solution both before and after passing through the hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC).

[0072] The grey bars in the figure represent cases where the solution was solely heated (with the detergent added after heating the water) without passing through the reactor. It was observed that heating alone increased the peak absorbance; however, even at a flow temperature of 50 degrees Celsius, the peak absorbance remained significantly lower than that achieved with a single pass through the reactor without heating. In contrast, the black bars in the figure represent the peak absorbance values for cases where the solution underwent a single pass through the hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC) after being heated. These results, in combination with findings from our recent study, indicated that at a water temperature of 50 degrees Celsius, the peak absorbance was very close (with less than a 2% difference) to the peak absorbance achieved with five passes through the reactor without any heating.

[0073] These compelling results highlight the exceptional potential of combining heating and cavitation in achieving maximum dissolution with just a single pass through the hydrodynamic cavitation device (HC). By leveraging the synergistic effects of heat and cavitation, our invention demonstrates an efficient and innovative approach to significantly enhance the dissolution process, minimizing resource consumption and streamlining detergent preparation procedures.

[0074] In addition, conductivity measurements are provided for the liquid detergent and for cases of different solute to solvent ratio (table 1) for the upstream pressure of -1.034 MPa (150 Psi). As expected, with increasing the concentration the conductivity is increased.

[0075] REFERENCES

[0076] [1] Stepisnik Perdih, Tadej & Sirok, Branko & Dular, Matevz. (2017). Influence of Hydrodynamic Cavitation on Intensification of Laundry Aqueous Detergent Solution Preparation. Strojniski vestnik - Journal of Mechanical Engineering. 63. 83-91. 10.5545 / sv- jme.2016.3970.

[0077] [2] Rokhsar Talabazar, F., Jafarpour, M., Zuvin, M. et al. Design and fabrication of a vigorous “cavitation-on-a-chip” device with a multiple microchannel configuration. Microsyst Nanoeng 7, 44 (2021). https: / / doi.org / 10.1038 / s41378-021-00270-l

[0078] [3] Maleki, M., Rokhsar Talabazar, F., Seyedmirzaei Sarraf, S., Sheibani Aghdam, A., Bayraktar, S., Tuzcuoglu, E., Ko§ar, A., & Ghorbani, M. (2023). Detergent Dissolution

[0079] Intensification via Energy-Efficient Hydrodynamic Cavitation Reactors. ACS Omega.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A system for dissolving a cleaning agent in a liquid solvent to be used in wet cleaning machine (WM), characterized by- A hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10), which prepares a first solution of the cleaning agent and the liquid solvent by hydrodynamic cavitation, having an inlet port (11) for receiving the cleaning agent and the liquid solvent, a plurality of microchannels (12) which are parallel to each other, an outlet chamber (13) where the microchannels (12) are connected, a pressure port (14) provided on the outlet chamber,- At least one cleaning agent source (A) for providing the cleaning agent to the hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10) to prepare the first solution,- A line for transferring a solvent without entering the hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10) to a volume where the first solution and the liquid solvent is mixed,- a processing unit configured to determine a ratio for the first and the second solution to obtain mixture of the first and the second solution with a predetermined concentration.

2. A system according to the Claim 1, characterized by an inlet chamber (15) connected to the inlet port (11) and the microchannels (12).

3. A system according to the Claim 2, characterized by at least one pressure port (14) connected to the inlet chamber (15).

4. A system according to the Claim 1, wherein a width of the microchannels (12) is between 400-1000 pm.

5. A system according to the Claim 1, wherein a length of the microchannels (12) is between 200-4000 pm.

6. A system according to the Claim 1, wherein a distance between two sequential microchannels (12) is between 400-1000 pm.

7. A system according to the Claim 1, characterized by valves controls ratio of the first solution and the solvent to be mixed.

8. A system according to the Claim 8, characterized by the processing unit configured to generate response based on the ratio of the first solution and the solvent to control the valves.

9. A system according to the Claim 1, characterized by a heating means is positioned before or after the hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10) at a solvent flow direction.

10. A wet cleaning machine (WM) having a system according to any of Claim 1 to 9.

11. A wet cleaning machine (WM) according to Claim 10 wherein the hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10) is positioned outside of the body of the wet cleaning machine (WM).

12. A wet cleaning machine (WM) according to Claim 10 wherein the volume where the first solution and the liquid solvent is provided internally in the wet cleaning machine (WM).

13. A wet cleaning machine (WM) according to Claim 10 wherein the volume where the first solution and the liquid solvent is provided outside of the body of the wet cleaning machine (WM).

14. A method for dissolving a cleaning agent in a liquid solvent to be used in wet cleaning machine (WM), characterized byPassing liquid solvent and the cleaning agent through the hydrodynamic micro fluidic device (10) of Claim 1 to prepare a saturated first solution and mixing the saturated solution with a solvent that doesn’t pass through the hydrodynamic microfluidic device (10) according a ratio determined by a processing unit to obtain a solution predetermined concentration.

15. A method according to Claim 16 wherein ratio of the first solution is between 0.1-0.3 by total volume of the solution to be used in wet cleaning and ratio of the first solution is between 0.1-0.3 by total volume of the solution to be used in wet cleaning.

16. A method according to Claim 16 characterized by heating the liquid solvent and / or the cleaning agent of the first solution or the first solution after prepared.

17. A method according to Claim 16 wherein heating is carried out between 30-50°C.

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