Pulsed Electric Field Water Treatment System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current water treatment methods using pulsed electric fields and non-thermal plasma face challenges such as high energy consumption, expensive gas injection systems, and flow resistance due to gas bubbles in small pipes, particularly in irrigation systems, where the effectiveness of disinfection is limited by the need for high power and complex equipment.
Innovation Solution
A water treatment system employing a high voltage electrode with a porous metal surface and a ground electrode, generating pulsed electric fields with a rise time of less than 60 nanoseconds and an amplitude of at least 30 kV/cm across a small gap, allowing for efficient disinfection without the need for gas injection, and integrated into existing filtration systems to treat a wide range of water types without interfering with filtration processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If gas injection is used to generate plasma for water treatment, then disinfection effectiveness is improved, but energy consumption increases and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the gas injection system from the plasma generation process. Instead of using gas-phase plasma requiring compressors and injection systems, the invention directly applies pulsed electric fields to liquid water, generating dissolved plasma species in situ without any gas phase intermediaries. This removes the energy-consuming and complex gas injection infrastructure while maintaining disinfection effectiveness through direct electrochemical reactions in the liquid phase.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical gas injection system with an electrical field-based plasma generation method. Instead of mechanically injecting gas through compressors and nozzles, the invention uses high-voltage pulsed electric fields to directly generate reactive species in the liquid phase, substituting a mechanical system with an electrical field-based system that is simpler and more energy-efficient.
2Reliability
If gas bubbles are introduced into small pipes for plasma treatment, then disinfection is enhanced, but flow resistance increases due to surface tension
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes gas bubbles from the system entirely by eliminating the gas injection mechanism. Plasma generation occurs directly in the liquid phase through pulsed electric fields, producing dissolved reactive species without forming gas bubbles. This eliminates the surface tension effects and flow resistance problems that would otherwise occur in small-diameter pipes during irrigation applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a pneumatic approach (gas injection) to a purely hydraulic approach where plasma chemistry occurs directly in the liquid phase. By using pulsed electric fields to generate reactive species dissolved in water, the system maintains fluid flow characteristics appropriate for irrigation without the disruptive presence of gas bubbles that would create flow resistance in small pipes.
3Reliability
If membrane filters with small pore sizes are used to remove particles, then filtration effectiveness is improved, but head pressure requirement increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental mechanism from physical filtration based on pore size to electrochemical disinfection based on electric field parameters. Instead of using membrane pore size as the controlling parameter, the invention uses pulsed electric field parameters (voltage, pulse duration, frequency) to achieve water treatment, thereby avoiding the high pressure requirements associated with small-pore membrane 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
This solution provides effective disinfection of water with reduced energy consumption and operational costs, capable of treating various water types without secondary waste or treatment gaps, while maintaining the reliability of existing filtration systems and ensuring 100% of filtered water is treated by pulsed electric fields.
Implementation Method 1
a high voltage power supply electrically connected to the HV electrode for generating pulsed electric fields having a rise time equal to or less than 60 nanoseconds (ns) and an amplitude greater than or equal to 30 kV/cm across the gap
Implementation Method 2
thereby inducing severe electroporation (i.e., the formation of pores in cell membranes by the action of high voltage electric fields), cell membrane breakdown, and cell death
Implementation Method 3
Plasma methods, such as pulsed spark discharges, which effectively combine the contributions of UV radiation, reactive chemical species (e.g., hydroxyl radical, ozone, hydrogen peroxide), and high electric fields
Implementation Method 4
A non-thermal plasma system that can generate gas-phase plasmas in contact with liquids is often used, as such a system consumes less power and produces less liquid heating than a typical thermal plasma system
Data Source
AI summary
A water treatment system includes a water inlet that intakes water to be treated, a high voltage (HV) electrode having a porous metal surface area in a range of between 0.1 cm2 and 5 cm2 in fluid communication with the water, such that the water flows through the porous metal surface area of the HV electrode, a ground electrode disposed across a gap from the HV electrode, in fluid communication with the water, a high voltage power supply electrically connected to the HV electrode for generating spark plasma or pulsed electric fields having a rise time equal to or less than 60 nanoseconds (ns) and an amplitude greater than or equal to 30 kV/cm across the gap, thereby producing treated water, and a water outlet that discharges the treated water.