Offset Grid Plate Layer for Hazardous Liquid Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for hazardous liquid and waste water collection and containment are inadequate in separating and recycling contaminants from vehicle washing processes, leading to environmental pollution and inefficiencies in water reuse, as they fail to effectively filter out oils and pollutants before allowing treated water to re-enter the water system.
Innovation Solution
A modular and mobile cleaning system featuring a planar, non-porous lower layer with offset grid layers and an upper layer with holes for fluid passage, which uses Stokes' Law to separate oils from water, allowing contaminants to collect within the grid layers for later vacuuming and proper disposal, while also incorporating a drainage system for recycling runoff.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a simple collection system is used, then the system is easy to operate and mobile, but it cannot effectively separate oils and pollutants from water
Solution Approach 1:
The collection system is divided into multiple functional layers: a non-porous lower layer for liquid collection, offset grid layers for oil entrapment, and an upper layer with holes for fluid passage. Each layer performs a specific separation function, enabling effective contaminant removal while maintaining system mobility and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The offset grid layers are arranged at angles relative to each other, creating a three-dimensional separation structure. This dimensional arrangement increases the surface area for oil-water separation and enhances the system's ability to capture contaminants from multiple directions, improving separation effectiveness without complicating operation.
2Reliability
If multiple layers of corrugated membranes are added to improve separation, then the separation effectiveness increases, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different layers of the collection system have specialized properties tailored to specific separation needs: the non-porous lower layer captures liquids, the offset grid layers trap oils through their angled structures, and the upper layer with holes allows controlled fluid passage. This local specialization achieves effective separation using simple, geometrically distinct components rather than complex multi-functional membranes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system combines multiple simple materials and structures (non-porous layer, grid layers, perforated upper layer) into a composite separation system. Each component remains simple in design but collectively they provide sophisticated multi-stage separation, avoiding the need for single complex corrugated membranes while achieving superior separation effectiveness.
3Device complexity
If contaminants are not properly separated, then the system remains simple, but environmental pollution occurs and water recycling is inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The offset grid layers are designed to actively capture and retain harmful oil contaminants that would otherwise pollute the environment. By converting the harmful floating oil layer into a captured resource within the grid structure, the system prevents environmental pollution while enabling safe water recycling, transforming a harmful byproduct into a managed component.
Solution Approach 2:
The system separates contaminants from water for proper disposal while recovering clean water for recycling. The non-porous lower layer collects and retains separated oils and heavy contaminants for removal, while the cleaned water above can be safely recycled, implementing a discard-recover cycle that prevents pollution and improves water 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
Effectively captures and separates contaminants from vehicle washing water, enabling efficient recycling and reducing environmental pollution by ensuring clean water is reused, thus addressing the inefficiencies in existing systems and promoting sustainable vehicle washing practices.
Implementation Method 1
The plate layer is set over a non-porous layer, thereby capturing oils suspended in the waste water within netting (offset grid layers) of the plate layer as per the nature of Stokes' Law
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid cleaning system rests on a surface having a non-porous material covering and a drain. A plate layer has two or more layers, each have runners arranged in a grid. The grid of each successive layer is offset at an angle with respect to the grid of a previous layer. An upper layer covers the plate layer and has a plurality of holes for the passage of fluids into the liquid cleaning system. As fluids enter the liquid cleaning system through the holes, the liquid traverses the grid layers of the plate layer, flowing towards the drain. Contaminants within the liquid collect within the grid of the layers of the plate layer.