Screw Filter Extrusion Combustor Blackwater Treatment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Small-scale blackwater producers, such as recreational vehicles, remote work sites, and remote cabins, face challenges in effectively treating blackwater due to the impracticality of large-scale traditional bioreactors and sludge treatment methods, necessitating a simplified solution for handling waste solids.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a vessel with a screw and radial filter, where a blackwater stream is conveyed and pressurized against an extrusion plate, separating the liquid and solid components, with the liquid passing through the filter and the solids being forced into a combustor vessel for combustion, allowing for efficient disposal without user involvement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional bioreactors and sludge treatment methods are used, then blackwater treatment effectiveness is improved, but system size and complexity increase making them impractical for small-scale applications
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the blackwater treatment process into distinct functional segments: a separation vessel with screw conveyor for solid-liquid separation, and a separate combustor for solids disposal. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and scaled appropriately for small-scale applications, resolving the contradiction between treatment effectiveness and system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and removes the solids component from the blackwater stream through mechanical separation, isolating it for separate combustion treatment. This extraction approach simplifies the overall system by removing the need for complex biological treatment processes, achieving effective treatment while reducing system size and complexity for small-scale use.
2Device complexity
If mechanical separation is used to simplify the system, then device complexity is reduced, but separation efficiency and treatment reliability may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The screw conveyor acts as an intermediary mechanism between the separation vessel and combustor, mechanically transporting solids while maintaining separation from the liquid stream. This intermediary device ensures reliable solid-liquid separation through mechanical action rather than relying on complex biological processes, achieving both simplicity and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces complex biological treatment systems with a mechanical separation and combustion system. The screw conveyor and extrusion plate provide mechanical separation of solids and liquids, substituting unreliable biological processes with deterministic mechanical action, thereby improving separation efficiency while maintaining system simplicity.
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 effectively separates and combusts blackwater solids, eliminating the need for solids handling and allowing for the liquid to be reused, thus addressing the challenges of small-scale blackwater treatment by simplifying the process and enabling efficient waste management.
Implementation Method 1
A first vessel has a screw running through the vessel from a first end to a second end... The blackwater stream... is conveyed by the screw from the first end to the second end
Implementation Method 2
The screw is surrounded radially by a filter... the liquid component is thereby forced from the blackwater stream through the filter
Implementation Method 3
The blackwater stream is pressurized against the extrusion plate... the liquid component is thereby forced from the blackwater stream through the filter and the solids component is forced through the extrusion plate
Implementation Method 4
A combustor vessel is configured to receive a solids component from the extrusion plate... The combustor vessel is configured to combust the solids component
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for disposing of blackwater are disclosed. A first vessel contains a screw running through the vessel from a first end to a second end. The screw is surrounded radially by a filter. The first vessel has a blackwater inlet adjacent the first end. An extrusion plate is adjacent the second end of the first vessel. A combustor vessel is configured to receive a solids component from the extrusion plate. A blackwater stream, consisting of a liquid component and the solids component, is passed through the blackwater inlet into the first vessel, is conveyed by the screw from the first end to the second end, and is pressurized against the extrusion plate. The liquid component is thereby forced from the blackwater stream through the filter and the solids component is forced through the extrusion plate into the combustor. The combustor is configured to combust the solids component.