Boron Extraction via Nanofiltration and Selective Resin
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Solution Overview
Problem
Boron accumulation in agricultural soils can lead to toxicity and crop failures due to its high solubility, causing fluctuations between deficiency and excess depending on rainfall and drought conditions, impacting crop yields.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a pressurized vessel with a boron-selective resin to extract boron from feed water, followed by acid-based and caustic solutions to regenerate the resin, and a nanofiltration system to process boron solutions for boric acid extraction, creating a closed-loop system with minimal waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If boron is left in the soil for agricultural use, then crop growth is stimulated, but boron accumulation leads to toxicity and crop failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts boron from contaminated soil using chelating agents that form soluble complexes with boron, allowing it to be removed via irrigation water. This separation removes the harmful accumulated boron while preserving the soil structure and other nutrients.
Solution Approach 2:
The system recovers boron from the extracted solution and returns it to the soil at controlled rates, preventing both toxicity and deficiency. This closed-loop approach discards the harmful concentrated form while recovering the beneficial element for controlled reapplication.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If boron is removed from the soil to prevent toxicity, then boron accumulation is reduced, but boron deficiency occurs leading to reduced yields
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback control by monitoring soil boron levels and adjusting the rate of boron return accordingly. When soil boron levels are high, extraction continues; when levels are adequate, boron is returned to the soil at controlled rates to maintain optimal levels for crop growth.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of boron by converting it from insoluble soil-bound forms to soluble chelate complexes during extraction, and then controlling the reapplication rate to maintain optimal concentration levels in the soil.
3Ease of operation
If high rainfall occurs, then boron is leached from the soil causing deficiency, but drainage water contains lost boron that could be recovered
Solution Approach 1:
The system converts the harmful effect of boron leaching during rainfall into a benefit by capturing the boron-rich drainage water and recovering the boron for reapplication to the soil. What was previously a loss mechanism becomes a recovery and redistribution opportunity.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional boron extraction methods are used, then boron can be removed from soil, but the processes are complex and disruptive to agricultural operations
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses naturally occurring chelating agents in the soil and irrigation water to perform the extraction, eliminating the need for complex external extraction equipment. The process leverages natural chemical reactions between chelators and boron, followed by simple water flushing to remove the boron-chelate complexes.
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
This system effectively manages boron levels in agricultural settings by extracting and recycling boron, reducing waste and operational disruptions, and providing a stable source of boron for fertilization, thus improving crop performance and yield stability.
Implementation Method 1
a nanofiltration system to process boron solutions for boric acid extraction
Implementation Method 2
a pressurized vessel with a boron-selective resin to extract boron from feed water
Data Source
AI summary
In a method for extracting boric acid from boron solution, the boron solution is processed at a nanofiltration system, wherein the nanofiltration system generates a first permeate and a first concentrate. The first permeate is stored in a first storage tank. The first permeate is polished to generate a second permeate and a second concentrate. The second concentrate is stored in a second storage tank. The second concentrate is processed at a seawater processing system to generate a third concentrate and a third permeate, wherein the third concentrate comprises boric acid. The third concentrate is stored in a third storage tank.