Separate Liquid Sorbent Loops for Cabin Air Contaminant Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing contaminant removal systems in environmental control systems are large, heavy, and power-intensive due to the need to remove both carbon dioxide and water using a single liquid sorbent loop, which can lead to increased power consumption and reduced reliability.
Innovation Solution
Implementing separate liquid sorbent loops for a water management system and a carbon dioxide removal system, where the water management system removes water from cabin air using a first liquid sorbent and returns it to the air stream to maintain humidity, thereby reducing the water load on the carbon dioxide removal system, which uses a second liquid sorbent.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single liquid sorbent loop is used to remove both carbon dioxide and water, then the system structure is simpler, but the system size increases, weight increases, and power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the single liquid sorbent loop into two separate loops: a water management system with its own liquid sorbent loop and a carbon dioxide removal system with a separate liquid sorbent loop. This segmentation allows each system to be optimized independently, reducing the overall size and weight while maintaining the ability to remove both contaminants effectively.
2Device complexity
If a single liquid sorbent loop is used to remove both carbon dioxide and water, then the system structure is simpler, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the system into separate water management and carbon dioxide removal loops, each system can operate at optimized power levels. The water management system handles water removal independently, preventing excessive water absorption in the carbon dioxide system that would require additional power for water removal and heating.
Solution Approach 2:
The water management system performs preliminary water removal from the air stream before the air enters the carbon dioxide removal system. This preliminary action reduces the water load on the carbon dioxide system, thereby reducing the power required for heating and water removal in that system.
3Quantity of substance
If water concentration in the liquid sorbent is increased, then water removal capacity is improved, but vacuum source reliability decreases due to condensation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments water removal and carbon dioxide removal into separate systems. The water management system uses a liquid sorbent with high water concentration optimized for water removal, while the carbon dioxide removal system uses a different liquid sorbent optimized for carbon dioxide removal. This prevents water condensation issues in the vacuum source of the carbon dioxide system.
Solution Approach 2:
The water management system acts as an intermediary that removes water from the air stream before it reaches the carbon dioxide removal system. This intermediary function protects the vacuum source in the carbon dioxide system from water condensation that would occur if high water concentration sorbent were used directly in that system.
4Quantity of substance
If water is removed from cabin air using liquid sorbent, then water concentration in air is reduced, but humidity control becomes challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The water management system removes water from the air stream using a liquid sorbent, then recovers and returns the removed water to the treated air stream. This discarding and recovering process allows precise control of the final humidity level in the cabin air, maintaining comfort while effectively removing excess water.
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 approach results in a smaller, lighter, and more efficient contaminant removal system with reduced power consumption, as the carbon dioxide removal system can operate more efficiently and reliably with lower water absorption, offsetting the added components of the water management system.
Implementation Method 1
The water management system removes water from the cabin air by absorption of the water into a liquid sorbent
Implementation Method 2
The carbon dioxide removal system removes carbon dioxide from the cabin air through absorption into a liquid sorbent
Implementation Method 3
The water stripper releases the water from the liquid sorbent
Implementation Method 4
The carbon dioxide stripper releases the carbon dioxide from the liquid sorbent
Data Source
AI summary
A contaminant removal system for removing contaminants from an environment includes a water management system and a carbon dioxide removal system. The water management system is configured to remove water from a cabin air stream using a first liquid sorbent to produce a dehumidified cabin air stream, and includes a water scrubber and a water stripper. The carbon dioxide removal system is configured to remove carbon dioxide from the dehumidified cabin air stream using a second liquid sorbent, and includes a carbon dioxide scrubber and a carbon dioxide stripper.