Nonpowered Mixing Basin for Seawater Desalination Coagulation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing water treatment systems for seawater desalination face challenges in efficiently removing fine suspended matters and particles due to high energy consumption, frequent mechanical agitator issues, and increased facility and maintenance costs, particularly in the pre-treatment processes involving mixing and coagulation basins.

Innovation Solution

A nonpowered mixing and coagulation basin is designed with layered turbulence derivatives, including mesh-type materials and pall ring type materials, to generate high-speed and slow-speed turbulent flows, respectively, within the mixing and coagulation basin, allowing for effective coagulation of particles without the need for mechanical agitation, and is integrated into a supply channel to distribute raw water to filter basins.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If mechanical agitators are mounted inside the mixing basin and coagulation basin to form circulating water flow for coagulation, then coagulation efficiency is improved, but power consumption increases and equipment maintenance costs increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecoagulation efficiencyVSAvoidpower consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The invention extracts and removes the mechanical agitators from the mixing and coagulation basins, replacing them with a non-powered system that uses water flow dynamics and turbulence to achieve coagulation, thereby eliminating the need for external power input for agitation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables the water flow itself to perform the mixing and coagulation function through naturally generated turbulence and circulation patterns, allowing the process to be self-driven without external mechanical energy input

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

2Reliability

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecoagulation efficiencyVSAvoidequipment complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention replaces expensive mechanical equipment with simple, low-cost structural elements such as baffle plates and flow distribution devices that have no moving parts and require minimal maintenance

Inventive Principle:

Principle #27Cheap short-living objects (Disposable)

3Reliability

If dual media filtration with sand and activated carbon is used to remove suspended matters, then removal efficiency is improved, but facility complexity and cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveremoval efficiencyVSAvoidfiltering system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention merges the mixing, coagulation, and filtration functions into an integrated system where the filtration basin structure itself facilitates coagulation through controlled turbulence, eliminating the need for separate mechanical mixing and coagulation basins

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The filtration basin is designed to serve multiple functions: it acts as both the filtration medium support and the coagulation chamber, with the filter media and baffle plates working together to achieve both mixing and filtration in a single unit

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

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 solution reduces power consumption, minimizes equipment expenses, and enhances coagulation efficiency by uniformly mixing raw water and coagulants, while also reducing capital and operating expenditures by eliminating the need for electric motors and agitators, leading to improved filtration efficiency and compact system design.

Implementation Method 1

generate high-speed and slow-speed turbulent flows, respectively, within the mixing and coagulation basin

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectTurbulence: Turbulence

Implementation Method 2

particles contained in raw water circulate and come into contact with each other by a water current to coagulate into a predetermined size

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectCoagulation: Coagulation

Data Source

PatentUS11427486B2Media filter having nonpowered mixing and coagulation basin, and seawater desalination plant and dissolved air floatation apparatus using same

Publication Date: 2022.08.30 DOOSAN HEAVY IND & CONSTR CO LTD

AI summary

A nonpowered mixing and coagulation basin is provided, which generates turbulences of at least two kinds inside the mixing and coagulation basin to which the raw water flows so that foreign matters contained in the raw water come into contact with each other while circulating by a water flow to be coagulated into a predetermined size, and a dissolved air floatation device using the same. The nonpowered mixing and coagulation basin has multiple stages with different packing materials and packing densities to form turbulent flows inside the raw water and control a flow speed, thereby uniformly mixing raw water and coagulant to enhance coagulation efficiency. The nonpowered mixing and coagulation basin simultaneously carries out mixing and coagulation at the front end part of the water treatment system, reduces equipment expenses by having no electric motor and agitator, and reduces power consumption because it does not use any power unit.