Annular Filter Dewatering Organic Waste
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial farming generates significant environmental contamination due to organic waste, which is challenging to manage due to high solids content and water content, leading to unusable water and environmental hazards, with current filtration methods being impractical and costly.
Innovation Solution
A continuous filtration system using a dewatering assembly with an annular filter element and zeolite or graphene membranes to separate solid organic waste from sludge, reducing water content and producing clean water, while also incorporating oxidizing agents and self-cleaning mechanisms to deodorize and sterilize the waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional filtration methods are used on organic waste, then filtration is attempted, but the high solids content renders filtration impractical
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the organic waste by applying thermal energy (heat) to evaporate water, transforming the waste from a high-moisture sludge into a drier solid material. This parameter change (reducing moisture content from typically 80-95% to below 10%) makes the material suitable for conventional filtration and handling methods that would otherwise be impractical
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary drying/evaporation of water from the organic waste before attempting filtration or other processing. By removing the excess water content in advance, the waste material becomes amenable to subsequent filtration operations, effectively preparing it for processes that would fail on wet, high-solids material
2Quantity of substance
If drying processes are applied to organic waste, then water is removed, but the removed water remains unusable and causes environmental contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful waste water that would normally be contaminated and unusable into a beneficial resource by filtering and purifying it during the drying process. The evaporation condensation system captures the water vapor, condenses it back to liquid form, and produces clean, usable water while the solid waste is simultaneously dried and deodorized
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of discarding the water removed during drying as contaminated waste, the system recovers it through evaporation and condensation. The water is separated from the organic solids, purified through the phase change process, and recovered as clean water suitable for reuse or safe discharge, eliminating the environmental contamination problem
3Reliability
If sterilization and deodorization are applied to organic waste, then the waste is treated, but the cost becomes unfeasible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive chemical sterilization and deodorization systems with a thermal processing system. By heating the organic waste to elevated temperatures (typically 100-200°C or higher) during the evaporation/drying process, the system achieves sterilization through thermal death of pathogens and deodorization through volatilization of odorous compounds, eliminating the need for costly chemical treatments
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 system effectively dewatering and deodorizing organic waste, producing clean water and reducing environmental contamination, with enhanced filtration capabilities and cost-effectiveness, enabling the recovery of usable water and potential pyrolytic disposal of treated waste.
Implementation Method 1
An oxidizing agent is introduced to the sludge being delivered to the sludge side of the first annular filter element thereby oxidizing the organic matter for separating the organic matter from said filtrate
Implementation Method 2
the use of membranes consisting of nano-porous media such as zeolite, graphene and thin films of selective adsorbent
Implementation Method 3
thin films of selective adsorbent
Implementation Method 4
Compression of the first annular coil defines filtration spacing between adjacent coils of the annular coil. Filtrate is conveyed radially outwardly through the first annular coil while simultaneously compressing the organic matter in the axial direction thereby reducing water content of the organic sludge
Implementation Method 5
provide water permeability and particulate exclusion by way of ion entrapment and/or exclusion
Implementation Method 6
provide water permeability and particulate exclusion by way of ion entrapment and/or exclusion
Data Source
AI summary
A filter assembly separating organic waste from water includes a first annular filter element defining an axis. The first annular filter element is defined by a first annular coil of flat wire and an optional second filter element is defined by a second annular coil of flat wire, being generally helical in the axial direction. A cylindrically or frustoconical filter membrane is concentrically disposed between the first and second annular filter element. The filter membrane is porous having aperture size of less than a nano-particulate size of the organic waste, but greater than a nano-particulate size of the water molecule. The second annular filter includes adjustable porosity for selectively preventing particles from reaching the filter membrane and selectively cleaning the membrane by reversed flow of water through the membrane. The assembly generates radial and distal flows and differential pressure forces, for use in high throughput industrial, agricultural and municipal facilities.