Brine Mixing Vessel Segmentation for Sludge Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional salt brine-making plants face issues such as undissolved salt forming sludge, salinity gradients leading to inaccurate readings, and atomization causing equipment corrosion, which result in equipment downtime and laborious cleaning.
Innovation Solution
A compact system with a mixing vessel and batch vessel configuration, featuring a sloped rear wall with slots and a serpentine filtration wall, an agitation pipe, and an eductor nozzle, ensures consistent salinity measurement and minimizes atomization by maintaining a laminar flow and preventing large granules from passing through, while the agitation and eductor nozzle work together to disperse undissolved salt and maintain homogeneity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If conventional salt brine-making plants dissolve salt into water until eutectic saturation is reached, then the desired salinity of 23.3% saturation by weight is achieved, but undissolved salt forms sludge or slurry that collects at the bottom of the equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the brine-making process into two separate vessels: a mixing vessel for dissolving salt and a storage vessel for holding the saturated brine. This segmentation prevents undissolved salt from accumulating in a single container, eliminating sludge formation while maintaining 23.3% saturation concentration.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the undissolved salt and sludge-prone environment from the brine storage by using a separate mixing vessel. The storage vessel only contains the clear saturated brine solution, while the mixing vessel handles the salt dissolution process where sludge may form, allowing for easier maintenance and continuous operation.
2Quantity of substance
If conventional brine-making equipment allows salt to dissolve in water, then saturation is achieved, but a significant salinity gradient forms from top to bottom within the vessel
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the mixing and storage functions into different vessels, the system eliminates the salinity gradient problem. The mixing vessel is where dissolution occurs, and the storage vessel receives already-mixed saturated brine, ensuring uniform composition throughout the stored solution and enabling accurate single-point salinity measurements.
3Productivity
If conventional brine-making operations allow salt brine to atomize and become suspended in the air, then the dissolution process occurs, but operators experience salty taste and metal surfaces corrode
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and contains the atomization and dissolution process within a enclosed or controlled mixing vessel, preventing brine aerosols from escaping into the surrounding environment. This protects both operators from salty taste exposure and metal surfaces from corrosion while maintaining efficient brine production.
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 achieves consistent 23.3% saturation by weight, reduces equipment downtime, and minimizes laborious cleaning efforts by ensuring accurate salinity readings and preventing corrosion, while maintaining a homogenous solution and reducing sludge formation.
Implementation Method 1
An agitation pipe may be provided along a floor of the mixing vessel, and provided with a plurality of nozzles or apertures
Implementation Method 2
An eductor nozzle may be secured to a exterior of the rear wall of the mixing vessel, such that the eductor nozzle faces a bottom of the batch vessel
Implementation Method 3
A row of slots extends along the slanted rear wall of the mixing vessel to allow the solution to pass through the rear wall and into the batch vessel
Data Source
AI summary
A system for mixing, for example, salt with water to make brine, includes a mixing vessel removably mounted within a bulk vessel. The mixing vessel is provided with a divider/filtration wall separating a front portion, where solid granular material is provided and mixes with a liquid for purposes of dissolving the solid granular material into the liquid, and a rear portion. The mixing vessel is provided with an agitation pipe along a floor thereof, and is shaped to minimize settled granular material from collecting at the base of the mixing vessel. The divider/filtration wall serves to prevent overflow, includes one or more screens to allow liquid, but prevent granular material larger than the pore size of the screens, to pass from the front portion to the rear portion, and in the event of overflow, minimize turbulence in material passing over the divider/filtration wall, all of which promote delivery of a uniform distribution of dissolved material to the batch tank. In the case of salt brine production, a wireless salinity sensor can accurately measure salt concentration in real time at a variety of depths.