Brine Generation System Sediment Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current brine generation systems for treating roadways face inefficiencies due to sediment accumulation, which reduces throughput and requires extensive downtime for cleaning, and the high cost of transporting brine from central facilities to multiple locations.
Innovation Solution
A high-throughput brine generation system that immerses freshwater nozzles in salt near an obstructing divider to create an extreme erosion zone for accelerated salt dissolution, and incorporates sediment filtering to capture and automatically discharge sediment above the tank bottom, allowing continuous operation without full tank drainage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If salt is loaded into tanks with open tops and water is sprayed over the surface, then brine can be generated, but sediment accumulates at the bottom causing excessive wear on pumps and valves
Solution Approach 1:
The tank is divided into an upper salt loading section and a lower brine collection section, with sediment collection zones positioned between them. This segmentation allows brine to be drawn from the lower section while sediment accumulates in designated zones, preventing sediment from entering the brine delivery system and causing wear on pumps and valves.
Solution Approach 2:
Sediment is extracted and removed from the brine generation process by collecting it in dedicated zones at the bottom of the tank. The system separates sediment from brine, allowing continuous operation without equipment wear from contaminated brine.
2Reliability
If the tank is drained to clean sediment from the tank, then sediment can be removed, but the machine remains off-line for a significant period of time
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables continuous brine generation operation by preventing sediment accumulation in the brine delivery path. Sediment is continuously collected in designated zones while brine is continuously drawn from the lower section, eliminating the need for periodic draining and cleaning shutdowns.
Solution Approach 2:
The tank design automatically directs sediment to collection zones through gravity and flow patterns, requiring no manual intervention for sediment removal during operation. The system self-manages sediment separation, allowing continuous operation without taking the machine offline.
3Ease of manufacture
If brine is produced at a single central facility and transported to multiple local facilities, then resource expenditure is concentrated, but transportation costs are considerably higher than production costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables local brine production at distributed facilities by providing a simple tank design that can be deployed anywhere. Each location can produce its own brine using local water and salt, eliminating transportation costs while maintaining centralized design standards and operational procedures.
4Productivity
If water jets are positioned to spray over the salt surface, then salt dissolution occurs, but the process is significantly delayed
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of spraying water over the salt surface from above, the system introduces water at the bottom of the salt column and allows it to percolate upward through the salt. This inverted approach creates more efficient contact between water and salt, significantly accelerating dissolution and brine generation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses hydraulic pressure by introducing water at the bottom of the salt column. The pressurized water forces its way through the salt, creating efficient dissolution channels and dramatically increasing the rate of salt dissolution compared to surface spraying.
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 solution significantly reduces the time required to achieve desired salinity, increases system uptime, and decreases transportation costs by enabling on-site brine production at local facilities, thus improving efficiency and reducing operational expenses.
Implementation Method 1
immerses the freshwater nozzles in the salt near an obstructing divider to create an extreme erosion zone within the salt. This high turbulence zone can provide an accelerated entry of the salt into solution.
Implementation Method 2
immerses the freshwater nozzles in the salt near an obstructing divider to create an extreme erosion zone within the salt
Implementation Method 3
incorporates sediment filtering that catches a significant portion of the sediment at a point above the bottom of the tank
Data Source
AI summary
A brine generation system includes a tank unit having a tank body and a divider which separates the tank into an upper portion for holding salt crystals and a lower portion for holding brine. The divider is adapted to resist the movement of salt crystals greater than a predetermined size and to permit the brine solution to pass from the upper portion through the divider to the lower portion by the effect of gravity. The divider includes a sump channel having an opening in communication with the upper portion of the tank unit. The sump channel is adapted to collect non-soluble particles greater than a predetermined size and permit the brine solution in the sump channel to pass therethrough to the lower portion of the tank unit. The sump channel is in communication with a sediment discharge port defined in the tank body.