Acid-pH Clay Ball Filter for Recyclable Self-Cleaning Hoods
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Solution Overview
Problem
Clay bead filters in self-cleaning ventilation hoods for professional kitchens face challenges in recycling due to pH retention issues, as they become basic and difficult to process at the end of their life cycle, posing environmental risks.
Innovation Solution
The use of expanded clay balls with an initial acid pH, which neutralize when exposed to basic cleaning products, allowing for easier recycling and maintaining filter efficiency throughout multiple cleanings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If clay balls with neutral or basic pH are used in self-cleaning hoods, then the filter efficiency is maintained, but the balls retain basic pH after cleaning cycles making them difficult to recycle and eliminate
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using clay balls with neutral or basic pH that retain cleaning product residue, the invention inverts the approach by using clay balls with acid pH (pH 2-4) that neutralize the basic cleaning product. This inversion transforms the problem of pH retention into a solution where the balls actively neutralize the cleaning product, achieving both filter efficiency and ease of recycling with final pH between 6-6.5
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the pH parameter of the clay balls from neutral/basic to acidic (pH 2-4). This parameter change allows the balls to neutralize the basic cleaning product (pH 9-9.5) during cleaning cycles, ensuring that after multiple cleanings the balls reach an almost neutral pH (6-6.5) suitable for recycling, while maintaining their filtering function throughout their service life
2Reliability
If the air passage through the filter is reduced to increase contact time, then degreasing efficiency improves, but the air speed decreases and may produce annoying hiss
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the air flow path by introducing multiple parallel passages through the clay ball filter layer. This segmentation increases the total contact surface area between air and clay balls, improving degreasing efficiency while maintaining sufficient air speed (1.5-2.2 m/s) to avoid annoying hiss, as the increased surface area compensates for the shorter individual passage length
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The acid-treated clay balls maintain neutral pH after use, facilitating recycling and maintaining high degreasing efficiency, reducing environmental risks and operational costs while ensuring effective grease removal and flame interruption.
Implementation Method 1
the use of clay balls with an acid initial pH had no influence on the efficiency of the filter and moreover made it possible to obtain balls which, at the end of life of the filter, after multiple cleanings with a basic product, showed an almost neutral pH between 6 and 6.5
Implementation Method 2
The clay beads in a bead filter are naturally porous and will therefore retain cleaning product during each cleaning cycle
Implementation Method 3
it offers great efficiency by taking advantage of the principle of centrifugal force: at each turn of the air loaded with grease between the balls, part of the grease, constituting the heavy part of the air, is deposited on the balls
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The subject of the present invention is an expanded clay ball filter intended to equip a kitchen ventilation hood comprising a frame (2), an upper grid (3), a lower grid (4) and expanded clay balls (5) retained in the frame (2) between the lower and upper grids (3, 4), characterized in that the expanded clay balls (5) have an acid pH such that said pH is neutralized on contact with a product of basic pH.