Modular UV Grain Disinfection with Adjustable Intensity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for disinfecting bulk materials with ultraviolet radiation, such as grain products, lack the ability to adjust irradiation intensity, ensure uniform treatment, and protect equipment from contamination and mechanical damage, leading to inefficient processing and potential for static electricity issues.
Innovation Solution
A modular installation with adjustable ultraviolet lamps, TEFLON-coated for protection, intensity sensors, and a vibrating mechanism to regulate material flow, along with a bipolar ionizer for static electricity removal, allowing for customizable treatment and easy maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If ultraviolet lamps are installed in a fixed housing for disinfecting bulk materials, then the disinfection function is provided, but the ability to adjust irradiation intensity and adapt to different materials is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into multiple identical modules that can be independently assembled. Each module contains UV lamps arranged in specific patterns, and modules can be stacked vertically to create adjustable irradiation intensity. This segmentation allows flexibility in configuring the system for different bulk materials while keeping individual module structures simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular design creates universal building blocks that can be configured for different applications. By varying the number of modules and their vertical arrangement, the same basic module serves multiple functions: adjusting irradiation dose, adapting to different material flow rates, and scaling for different throughput requirements.
2Productivity
If UV lamps are exposed directly to bulk material flow, then irradiation effectiveness is maximized, but lamp contamination and mechanical damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
A transparent protective shield made of UV-transparent material is introduced as an intermediary between the UV lamps and the bulk material flow. This shield allows UV radiation to pass through effectively while preventing direct contact between lamps and contaminating materials, thus maintaining both irradiation effectiveness and lamp reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective shield is designed as a thin, transparent film or shell that covers the UV lamps. This thin protective layer maintains UV transmission while providing mechanical protection and contamination barrier, balancing productivity and reliability requirements.
3Speed
If bulk material flows rapidly through the irradiation chamber, then processing speed increases, but uniform irradiation from all sides cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
UV lamps are arranged in multiple vertical rows and horizontal positions within modules, creating three-dimensional irradiation coverage. Bulk material flows horizontally through the chamber while being irradiated from multiple directions (top, bottom, sides) by lamps positioned at different heights and locations, ensuring uniform treatment even at high flow speeds.
Solution Approach 2:
The irradiation chamber is segmented into multiple modules with lamps distributed throughout. This segmentation allows material to receive incremental irradiation doses from different module sections as it flows through, achieving uniform overall treatment while maintaining continuous high-speed flow.
4Ease of manufacture
If the housing is made as a single integral structure, then manufacturing is simplified, but flexibility for adjusting treatment parameters is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is constructed from identical, standardized modules that are simple to manufacture individually. These modular units are then assembled in series to create the complete irradiation system. This approach maintains manufacturing simplicity while enabling flexible configuration through modular assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The modular design introduces dynamic configurability to an otherwise static structure. Modules can be added or removed to adjust treatment intensity, and the system can be reconfigured for different bulk materials without requiring complex custom manufacturing, thus maintaining ease of manufacture while achieving adaptability.
5Ease of manufacture
If UV lamps are installed without protective coatings, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but lamp lifespan decreases due to contamination
Solution Approach 1:
A transparent protective shield is introduced as an intermediary barrier between UV lamps and bulk material. This shield prevents contamination of lamp surfaces while allowing UV radiation to pass through, thereby extending lamp lifespan without requiring expensive protective coatings on the lamps themselves, maintaining manufacturing cost efficiency.
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
Enables adjustable and efficient ultraviolet irradiation of bulk materials, effectively disinfecting 20% to 99.99% of harmful microorganisms while simplifying operation, installation, and maintenance, improving grain quality and reducing disease transmission in agriculture and livestock.
Implementation Method 1
processing of materials by radiation of the ultraviolet spectrum for the purpose of decontamination and bactericidal purification
Implementation Method 2
irradiation with ultraviolet radiation of seeds of cereals for cleaning from harmful microorganisms
Implementation Method 3
The installation contains a vibrating mechanism that ensures passage of the bulk material
Implementation Method 4
The installation contains a bipolar ionizer for removing static electricity from the particles of the material
Implementation Method 5
The lamps are equipped with a protective, transparent for ultraviolet radiation, TEFLON coating
Data Source
AI summary
A device for processing bulk grain products includes a housing with a plurality of modules stacked on top of each other; wherein the modules are at an equal distance from each other, such that the distance is adjustable, wherein each module has horizontal ultraviolet lamps, whose position relative to each is adjustable, and each ultraviolet lamp has a protective coating for protection from mechanical damage and a protective shield above it; each module having an ultraviolet intensity sensor aimed at one of the plurality of lamps; each module having a device for cleaning the ultraviolet lamps from contamination; and each module including a vibrating mechanism; wherein the bulk grain products move from top to bottom, past the ultraviolet lamps under a force of gravity. Optionally, the device may include a bipolar ionizer and/or an infrared heater. Optionally the protective coating is made of polytetrafluoroethylene.