Sewer Cleaning Water Reclamation System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sewer cleaning systems using water-jet/vacuum trucks consume large amounts of clean water, requiring frequent refills and resulting in significant downtime when no water source is available at the job site, leading to inefficiencies in the cleaning process.
Innovation Solution
A sewer cleaning system that recycles and reclaims water by using a combination of high-pressure pumps, vacuum systems, and filtration processes to reuse water multiple times, reducing the need for fresh water and minimizing interruptions during the cleaning process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a jet/vac truck carries large water tanks (550-1800 gallons) to clean sewer lines, then the cleaning capacity and duration are improved, but the truck requires frequent trips to refill water and empty debris tanks, resulting in significant loss of time and reduced productivity
Solution Approach 1:
The system recovers and recycles the water that was previously discarded with debris. The filtration system separates debris from water, and the recycled water is stored in clean water tanks for reuse in subsequent cleaning operations. This transforms a linear water consumption model into a cyclic system, dramatically reducing the frequency of refilling trips while maintaining cleaning effectiveness.
2Duration of action of moving object
If the truck carries sufficient water tanks to clean multiple sewer lines, then the duration of operation at job site is improved, but the overall productivity decreases due to frequent trips to dump sites and water sources
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by filtering and recycling its own water supply. The filtration system processes the water-debris mixture generated during cleaning, separating clean water for reuse. This self-sustaining capability allows the truck to operate continuously at the job site without external refilling, converting operational duration into increased productivity.
3Reliability
If the debris tank is filled with large percentage of water compared to actual debris, then the vacuum system can effectively remove sewer debris, but the water wasted during dumping increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The filtration system extracts clean water from the water-debris mixture in the debris tank. By separating the water component from the debris, the system recovers the water for reuse while concentrating the debris for efficient disposal. This extraction process eliminates the waste of the majority component (water) while preserving the cleaning effectiveness achieved during operation.
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
The system effectively reduces water consumption, allowing the truck to remain at the job site longer and complete sewer cleaning tasks faster by continuously recycling and filtering water, thereby minimizing the need for frequent water refills and reducing overall water usage.
Implementation Method 1
a high-pressure water pump, which is supplied water from one or more water tanks. At the job site, typically at a manhole in the street, the water jet nozzle is lowered into a vertical access shaft until a horizontal run of sewer line is reached
Implementation Method 2
the hose connected to the nozzle is drawn back towards the jet/vac truck. As it is drawn back, the high-pressure water pushes the loosened debris back towards and into the well/basin where the vacuum hose draws the mixture of water and debris out of the well/basin and into a debris tank
Implementation Method 3
sewer cleaning systems with an onboard water reclamation system
Data Source
AI summary
A sewer cleaning system includes a water tank, a pump operatively coupled to the water tank, a water hose operatively coupled to the pump, a vacuum-generating system, a vacuum hose operatively coupled to the vacuum-generating system, and a debris tank having a forward bulkhead defining a fluid chamber. The bulkhead includes a debris sieve configured to allow water in the debris tank to flow through to the fluid chamber while retaining particulates in the debris tank. The sewer cleaning system further includes an extraction pump in fluid communication with the fluid chamber and configured to extract the water in the fluid chamber. The extraction pump is in fluid communication with the water tank so as to send the extraction water from the fluid chamber to the water tank for re-use. A method for cleaning a sewer line is also disclosed.