Auxiliary Gray Water Supply for Commercial Kitchen Pre-Rinse Reuse
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Solution Overview
Problem
Commercial warewashing facilities face challenges in efficiently managing and reusing the significant amount of water and energy consumed during the warewashing process, particularly in saving water and reducing gas/electricity usage without modifying the existing warewashing machines.
Innovation Solution
An auxiliary gray water supply device is introduced, which captures used dishwashing water from commercial warewashing machines and directs it to a pre-rinse station, utilizing a tank system with a pump and filtration components to sanitize and soften the water, thereby reducing water and energy consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If gray water is captured and reused for pre-rinsing, then water consumption is reduced, but device complexity increases due to additional tank and pump systems
Solution Approach 1:
An auxiliary gray water supply device is introduced as an intermediary system between the warewashing machine and pre-rinse station. This device includes a tank for storing gray water and a pump for delivering it to the pre-rinse station, thereby enabling water reuse without modifying the existing warewashing machine
Solution Approach 2:
The gray water management system is segmented into separate functional components: a tank for storage, a pump for delivery, and integration with the existing pre-rinse station. This segmentation allows the reuse function to be added independently without complicating the core warewashing machine
2Ease of operation
If gray water capture system is added without modifying warewashing machine, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary gray water supply device serves as a mediator that captures gray water from the warewashing machine's discharge and redirects it to the pre-rinse station without requiring any modifications to the warewashing machine itself, thereby maintaining ease of operation while enabling water reuse
Solution Approach 2:
The system is designed to automatically capture and reuse gray water through the auxiliary device's tank and pump mechanism, reducing manual intervention and maintaining operational simplicity despite the added complexity of the reuse system
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 solution effectively reduces water and energy usage by reusing gray water for pre-rinsing, potentially saving over $55,000 per year for commercial food service facilities, without requiring substantial modifications to the existing warewashing machines.
Implementation Method 1
A pump has an inlet in fluid communication with the tank and an outlet in fluid communication with a delivery conduit
Data Source
AI summary
An auxiliary gray water supply device captures used wash water from a commercial warewashing machine for supply to a pre-rinse station without substantial modification of the commercial warewashing machine. The captured wash water and treatment agent are delivered to a pre-rinse station for pre-rinsing of dishes that will be washed within the commercial warewashing machine.