Multi-Stage Drinking Water Filtration With Chelating Bactericidal Gel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing water purification technologies face issues such as low yield, high energy consumption, contamination of drinking water with harmful substances, complex and prone-to-failure modular designs, and ineffective removal of heavy metals and bacteria, leading to inconsistent drinking water quality.
Innovation Solution
A combined water purification device integrating a chelating gel and/or bactericidal gel within a single cartridge, utilizing a radial arrangement with a central drain to ensure effective removal of heavy metals and bacteria without releasing harmful substances into the water, while maintaining high productivity and low pressure drop.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If reverse osmosis is used for water purification, then drinking water quality is improved, but water yield is low (rarely exceeds 10% of water volume used) and energy consumption is high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple filtration technologies (activated carbon filter, heavy metal removal filter, bacteria removal filter) into a single integrated cartridge system. This merging approach achieves comprehensive water purification comparable to reverse osmosis while maintaining high water yield by operating with line pressure and avoiding the low-yield reverse osmosis process.
2Manufacturing precision
If distillation process is used for water purification, then drinking water quality is improved, but energy consumption is extremely high and beneficial elements are removed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple filtration mechanisms (activated carbon adsorption, chelating resin for heavy metals, amino polymer for bacteria) in one system that operates at line pressure without external energy input. This achieves comprehensive purification similar to distillation while consuming no additional energy beyond the water pressure already present in the plumbing system.
Solution Approach 2:
The filtration system operates using the existing line pressure of the water supply without requiring external pumps or energy input. The activated carbon, chelating resins, and amino polymers automatically perform their purification functions as water flows through the cartridge, making the system self-service and energy-free.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple filter technologies are combined in separate units/cartridges, then purification effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases and reliability decreases due to complex piping and connectors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates activated carbon filtration, heavy metal removal, and bacteria removal into a single cartridge with internalized flow paths. This eliminates all external piping, valves, and connectors between filter stages, removing the failure points and leak risks associated with modular systems while maintaining comprehensive purification effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent places the heavy metal removal filter and bacteria removal filter inside the activated carbon filter housing, creating a nested structure where all filtration stages are contained within one another. This nested design integrates multiple purification functions into a single unified component with internal flow paths, eliminating the need for external connections between separate filter units.
4Productivity
If filtration methods operate with high yields and line pressure, then productivity is improved and energy consumption is reduced, but pressure drop increases and effectiveness of depletion is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs porous activated carbon particles, porous chelating resin beads, and porous amino polymer structures that provide extensive surface area for contaminant removal. These porous materials maintain low flow resistance, allowing high water yields at line pressure while ensuring effective depletion of heavy metals and bacteria through the large internal surface areas available for adsorption and filtration.
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 device achieves efficient, long-lasting purification of drinking water with minimal space requirements, simplified user handling, and consistent quality by combining orthogonal purification techniques in a compact unit, ensuring effective removal of contaminants without additional energy consumption or contamination.
Implementation Method 1
one process comprises a chelating gel and/or a bactericidal gel for heavy metal removal and/or bacteria removal
Implementation Method 2
The antibacterial effect is most likely due to the interaction between the at least partially protonated (and thus positively polarized) amino groups of the polymer and the negatively polarized bacterial envelope
Implementation Method 3
A well-known and commercially used filter medium is activated carbon, for example, which is used as a bed of particles in linearly flushed cartridges
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a device for purifying drinking water in multiple stages by combining orthogonal purification technologies in one module. The invention is characterized in that the device comprises a housing (3), a water inlet opening (1), a water outlet opening (2), a hollow cylinder (4) which is filled with activated carbon, and a hollow cylinder with a semipermeable wall (5), wherein the hollow cylinder (5) contains a chelating bactericidal gel or a chelating and bactericidal gel for removing heavy metals or bacteria or for removing heavy metals and bacteria.