Water Treatment Filter Cleaning via Swirl Stream Nozzles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional water treatment devices for removing iron and manganese from underground water require large amounts of oxidizing agents or coagulants, leading to high costs, generation of carcinogenic byproducts, and complex, space-intensive systems that are difficult to maintain and install in limited spaces, with inefficient filter cleaning processes that reduce filtering speed and increase water usage.
Innovation Solution
A method for cleaning the filter layer of a water treatment apparatus by forming swirl or random streams above the filter surface using jetted cleaning water, allowing for partial and whole cleaning processes tailored to the specific settling patterns of iron and manganese, reducing the need for large power and complex mechanisms, and minimizing cleaning water usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional water treatment devices use oxidizing agents or coagulants to remove iron and manganese, then removal effectiveness is improved, but operating cost increases due to consumption of chemicals
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes iron and manganese from water through physical filtration using sand and gravel layers, eliminating the need for chemical oxidizing agents or coagulants. The filter apparatus uses natural filtration where water passes through multiple layers of sand and gravel, capturing dissolved metals without chemical addition.
Solution Approach 2:
The filtration system performs self-cleaning through backwashing, where accumulated impurities are automatically removed by reversing water flow through the filter layers. This self-maintaining mechanism eliminates the need for external chemical treatments and manual cleaning interventions.
2Reliability
If conventional water treatment devices add oxidizing agents to oxidize iron and manganese, then metal removal is improved, but harmful byproducts are generated
Solution Approach 1:
The invention converts the harmful effect of chemical oxidation into a beneficial physical filtration process. Instead of using chemicals that create carcinogenic byproducts, the system uses mechanical filtration through sand and gravel layers to capture and remove iron and manganese, transforming a chemical harm into a safe physical separation process.
3Reliability
If conventional water treatment systems include multiple tanks and processing units, then treatment effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges multiple filtration functions into a single integrated apparatus. The filter combines sand layers, gravel layers, and backwashing capabilities in one unit, eliminating the need for separate aeration tanks, flocculation tanks, and multiple filtration stages required by conventional systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The filter apparatus performs multiple functions simultaneously: filtration of dissolved metals, self-cleaning through backwashing, and water distribution. The same structural components serve both filtration and cleaning purposes, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining treatment effectiveness.
4Productivity
If conventional water treatment systems use large-scale infrastructure, then treatment capacity is improved, but installation space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The filtration system uses a nested layer structure where gravel layers contain sand layers, which in turn contain the filtration media. This nested arrangement maximizes treatment capacity within a compact vertical footprint, allowing high productivity in limited installation spaces.
5Reliability
If conventional filtration systems use sand that accumulates impurities, then initial filtration is improved, but maintenance frequency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements periodic backwashing to reverse water flow through the sand and gravel layers, flushing accumulated impurities out of the filter media. This periodic cleaning action extends the service life of the filtration sand by preventing permanent clogging and maintaining filtration performance over extended periods.
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 method significantly increases filtering speed, reduces maintenance costs, and allows for a compact, efficient water treatment system that can achieve filtering rates of up to 400 m/day with only 3% to 5% of received water used for cleaning, compared to 10% to 15% in previous systems.
Implementation Method 1
raw water is jetted out by jet nozzles in which air is introduced through an air inlet or air inlet tube. A jet water stream including multitudes of air bubbles is blown out of the raw water jetting outlet
Implementation Method 2
By virtue of this aeration, soluble substances such as iron and manganese contained in the water are oxidized and thereby are turned to insoluble substances
Implementation Method 3
the iron oxide or manganese oxide is filtered out by filtering the raw water through filtering sand
Implementation Method 4
the filter layer is cleaned by forming a swirl stream or a random stream in the water above the surface of the filter layer by the cleaning water jetted from the cleaning water outlets
Implementation Method 5
forming a swirl stream or a random stream in the water above the surface of the filter layer
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A water treatment apparatus includes a raw water supply tube, mixed raw water stream jet nozzles each communicating at one end thereof with the raw water supply tube and having at the other end thereof a raw water outlet from which mixed stream of raw water and air is jetted out, a filtering tank housing a filter layer disposed below the mixed raw water stream jet nozzles with a predetermined distance between the surface of the filter layer and the raw water outlet of the mixed raw water stream jet nozzles, a filtered water takeout tube provided in the filtering tank for taking out water filtered through the filter layer, a reverse stream cleaning water supply tube provided in the filtering tank for supplying reverse stream cleaning water to the filter layer, filter layer cleaning jet nozzles each communicating at one end thereof with a filter layer cleaning water supply tube and having at the other end thereof a cleaning water outlet from which cleaning water is jetted out, and an overflow outlet provided in the filtering tank above the filter layer.